A Small Light in the Dark
by dickard23
Summary: Katara moves to Republic City to teach waterbending. After being violently attacked by a crime boss, she struggles to cope. Aang and Sokka try to help her, but she only grows frustrated with their attempts. Can the formerly crazy princess o save Katara from her inner demons? Will they fall in love? How will Katara's friends and family take it? Azutara, Maiko, Sukka and more.
1. Chapter 1

This is a postwar AU- Ignore the Search and the Promise- eventual Azutara

I wanted to give a shout out to Ember Island, Decisions Made and Measure Each Step to Infinity. I loved all three stories (one is still in progress) and they had some influence in how I wrote this story. I hope they don't feel too similar, but I don't think they will.

* * *

Things you should know if you skipped the teasers: Aang and Katara dated for 2 years and then broke up. They remained friends. Sokka is still with Suki. Zuko is with Mai. A year after the war, Zuko was overwhelmed by assassination attempts and political drama. Not only did he ask the Kyoshi Warriors to defend him and Mai, but he also released Azula from the asylum to get her help in sorting out the political drama.

This was not well received by Zuko's friends or Uncle Iroh, but Azula did as promised, forming a new alliance of nobles that was strong enough to keep Zuko's government stable. Her methods, however, were largely unknown to Team Avatar, causing them to distrust her even more.

The story begins in December 102AG. I set Sozin's Comet in August so it's 2 1/3 years after the war ended. Drama, violence, angst, smut and drugs use (and possible abuse). This shit ain't for kids!

* * *

How We Started to Become Friends?

Suki's Room (In the Palace)

"I don't see why he invited her," Sokka complained. They were going to a private New Years celebration. There was a festival for the public in Capital City, but Zuko was having a private get together on Ember Island. The beach was closed to the public in the off-season. Only the locals could use it and Zuko had his family's beach house renovated.

Suki didn't like it either but "it's his house. We can't tell him whom to invite."

"But she's so nasty." Azula was always insulting people or ignoring them if they said something she didn't like.

Aang had a different perspective. "It's not like we've been particularly nice to her either."

"Should we be? After all she's done!"

"She did a lot of bad things, but she did a lot of good things too." Zuko couldn't control the country. Even excluding Ozai's associates who wanted to kill him, the people were generally frustrated and could revolt at any time.

By forming the alliance that bolstered the government, Azula was able to help strengthen the economy and lower taxes for the middle and lower classes, helping Zuko gain the public support he had desperately needed. "Without her, I'd probably be stuck in the Fire Nation on riot control all the time." And Aang had a lot of other work he could be doing instead.

"Most of the assassination attempts have stopped," Suki admitted.

"Most?" Sokka questioned.

"There was that deranged man who thought Zuko was an evil spirit, but he had stopped taking his medication. Azula found his family an in house nurse and the problem should be gone."

Sokka groaned. "I don't have to like her."

"You don't, but she won't hesitate to sick the guards on you again."

Sokka shivered at the memory. At another party, he had been rather drunk when he accused Azula of causing some disturbance amongst the public. When she told him to get out of her face, he didn't, and with a snap of her fingers, the guards hoisted him in the air and were ready to take him to the drunk tank.

Aang and Zuko managed to secure his release, but it served as a lesson to Sokka that Azula still had enough power to have him locked up overnight, he best stay mindful of it.

Suki kissed Sokka. "I'd rather you not start the new year in jail!"

"Fine, 'I'll behave myself.'"

"No you won't," Aang teased him. "Just don't misbehave too much!"

* * *

Azula did not want to go to this party. "This is going to be terrible," Azula complained as she packed her bag, well as she watched Ty Lee pack her bag.

"It can be fun. There will be alcohol and fireworks and …"

"A bunch of people who hate me, but don't hesitate to come to my home, eat my food, and discuss loudly how much they hate me."

Ty lee frowned. "It's not as if you tried to befriend them."

"How? I wasn't back in the palace for a week before I got death threats from that water tribe wench, a sword in my face from her idiotic brother and assurances from your boss that it was only a matter of time before I killed my brother."

"So it wasn't the best welcome home party. It doesn't mean things can't change."

"Things will change. Someday, they'll die."

Ty Lee snorted. "What am I to do with you?"

"You could help me hide in the palace, so I can go to the City's celebration instead."

"You'd rather go out with commoners?"

"I'd prefer commoners who like me to annoying peasants that don't."

Ty Lee laughed. "If it's that bad, I'm sure we can sneak on a boat back to Capital City."

"Really?"

"Yeah. That's what friends are for."

"Thanks Ty Lee."

"For what?"

"For being my friend."

* * *

Zuko hoped that this party went well. He had to do something about the tension between his sister and his friends. Any political meeting where they were both present, i.e. any international meeting involving the Fire Nation, was impeded by the animosity. If Katara wasn't complaining that Azula was there, Azula was saying that uneducated peasants have no business trying to think about complex issues. Maybe she should go plant some rice. That would actually be helpful.

He had to do something, and he decided he was going to make them party together until they could get along.

"This has to be the craziest idea you've had yet," Mai said to her boyfriend.

"I know, but I don't know what else to do. I've tried talking to them separately, to them together. I've begged. I've threatened. I've bribed."

"You bribed your friends to be nice to Azula?"

"I paid Azula 50 coins to be nice to them, and it was working. She complimented Katara's dress, but Katara thought she was mocking her, because it was a worn dress, and they got into a fight."

Mai laughed. "I wish I could have seen that."

"I'm hoping there won't be a repeat performance."

"Oh there will be."

* * *

Katara was the last to arrive. She had been teaching waterbending to some waterbenders who had just moved to Whale Tail Island. To try and ease racial and national tension, they tried having people of different nations move all over the world, as cultural ambassadors. Now, there were waterbenders living pretty much everywhere, but many of them had never been able to learn, either because they had been captured or were hiding from the Fire Nation or were women living in the Northern Water Tribe.

A servant took Katara's bag as she went to find somewhere to sleep. She found her room too far to walk to right now and decided to sleep on the couch. She managed to fall asleep right away, but it was only thirty minutes before, Azula and Ty Lee came into the room and a servant brought them a cart full of treats.

"I'm so happy about this," Azula flopped on the opposite facing couch, not even seeing Katara sleeping right behind her.

"I love dim sum."

They drank their tea and began to eat and talk about what was new.

"So what's the latest warrior drama," Azula questioned.

"There isn't always drama."

"Hah! Yeah there is. I've seen more catfights since y'all moved in here than I saw in my entire time at the royal academy and that was a 5 year span."

Ty Lee sighed. "So there have been a lot of slapping matches, but we all love each other."

"Does that mean each time I hit Zuko, it's really just a love tap?"

Ty Lee laughed raucously. "I like that one. Anyway, I kind of got myself into some trouble because I hooked up with another warrior, but I didn't realize she was already hooking up with yet another warrior and there was some drama."

"So you all do sleep with each other. The original Kyoshi warriors were Kyoshi's concubines."

"You're making that up!"

"I am NOT! Ask Aang about his past life. She was one for being pleased, by many women, most of whom were younger than she was, kind of like my grandfather."

"EWWW!"

* * *

Katara woke up to the smell of snacks and saw Azula and Ty Lee wrestling over something.

"You can't eat my taro puff!" Ty Lee told her.

"But I want it."

"Ask for more."

"But they'll have to make them."

Ty Lee tickled Azula long enough to reach for the table and grab the treat, shoving it into her mouth.

She just started to chew when Azula said, "you're always shoving things in your mouth."

She almost laughed out the treat before swallowing.

"Swallow like a good girl."

Ty Lee flipped her off.

"Didn't you learn your manners at the royal academy? I'm pretty sure flipping of a princess is a crime."

"Bite my ass."

"I would take you up on that, but I don't need to be involved in any warrior drama.

Also, you've been around the block a few too many times."

Offended, Ty Lee shoved her. Azula flipped her over and they started wrestling. Eventually, they were laughing on the ground.

"You're such a bitch," Ty Lee told her.

"You love me for it."

Katara had never seen Azula playful before. It was a strange event. She was still nasty and insulting, but it's almost like she means it in a benevolent way. _Could this be?_

Her stomach started to growl, giving her away.

"Hi Katara," Ty Lee said cheerily.

Azula only said, "humph!"

"What did I tell you about being nice?" Ty Lee chided

"It's only for losers?"

"Azula!"

"Hello Katara, how are you doing today?"

"Um, Fine!"

"Would you care to join us for dim sum?"

"Um, sure."

Azula called the servant for more taro puffs and siu mai and steam buns, and also more tea and a third plate.

"Of course."

"So how was living in a snow bank?" Azula questioned.

Katara frowned.

Ty Lee elbowed her. "What's wrong with you?"

"Didn't you say you make friends by sharing past experiences? Wouldn't asking her about her upbringing be normal?"

_Is she trying to be my friend? _

Ty Lee sighed. "I did say that, but you need to work on your delivery."

"Delivery of what?"

Ty Lee shook her head.

Katara answered, "We live in igloos, not snow banks."

"What's the difference?"

"An igloo is a structure made of snow. A snow bank is just a pile, usually one of snow that was in the way, like if you were digging a path."

"Ah."

"Anyway, living in an igloo is very cozy. There isn't much afforded for privacy, particularly when you live with your family."

"Then how do people have sex?"

"They do, it's just awkward."

"EW!"

"Azula!"

"What? If I didn't have soundproof walls, I would have burned down Zuko's wing, so I didn't have to hear him and Mai rutting."

"I do not rut," Mai said as she entered the room. "Rutting is for komodo rhinos."

"It can actually refer to any mammal," Zuko said.

"And humans are mammals, so rutting."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Katara welcome. Hello Ty Lee. Azula, I don't know what to do with you."

"You mean you aren't taken away with my beauty and charm?" She winked at her.

Zuko groaned. "How is it you're so full of yourself?"

"I just am aware of my many talents." Just then another tray of food appeared. Azula quickly shoved a taro puff in her mouth only to yell about how hot it was.

Ty Lee laughed at her stupidity. "You do that every time."

"Shut up."

After getting some food, Katara excused herself to go lie down.

Zuko and Mai asked what that was about.

"What?" Azula didn't know where Katara had come from. She had just appeared.

* * *

Later at dinner, Aang was happy to see Katara. "I didn't know you got in today." He hugged her.

"I took a nap after I got here. I was tired."

Azula watched the two curiously. "Do people usually stay friends after they break up?"

"Azula!" Zuko hissed.

"What? I've never had a (real) break up. I don't know what to expect."

"Who would date you?" Sokka retorted.

Suddenly, his plate caught on fire. "She burnt my MEAT!" It was now inedible ash.

Suki shook her head. "Can't you stay quiet for five minutes?"

"No. I think he has a complex," Azula told her.

Zuko slammed his fist on the table. "That is it. I refuse to put up with the shenanigans that have gone on with you all a moment longer. I'm going to keep making you all and Azula interact until you can tolerate each other, so you better get over your issues, or else you will be stuck with each other at every celebration forever."

Azula was silent. When did Zuko get a backbone?

Mai shook her head. This was the dumbest solution ever.

"How is that legal?" Sokka whined.

"Don't try me."

Sokka got a new plate and ate in silence.

Katara was impressed that he stayed silent. This was like a world record or something.

* * *

After dinner, they had drinks in the lounge.

Aang tried to lighten the mood. "Maybe we can play charades."

"What's charades?" Azula didn't know what he was talking about.

"You have partners and you pantomime something. If your partner guesses correctly within the allotted time, you get a point. Whichever pair has the most points at the end wins. You can't talk."

"How do you know what to act out?"

"You draw the words from a box." Aang went and got one.

Sokka paired up with Suki. Azula paired up with Ty Lee, and Aang asked Katara to be his partner. Zuko had a different idea. "I think we should shake this up."

He paired Mai with Aang, Azula with Suki, Ty Lee with Katara and he was with Sokka.

Azula and Suki looked at each other suspiciously.

Sokka went first. He drew forgiveness.

He started reaching out, pulling his hands towards his stomach and doubling over.

"Hunger, food poisoning, poison, betrayal." In 30 seconds he didn't get it. "What were you trying to act out?"

"Forgiveness!"

"WHAT?"

"You suck at this Zuko!"

"You should have gotten down on your knees."

"Ha-ha!" Azula laughed loudly.

"That's not what I meant."

Everyone else laughed.

"I didn't know you liked Sokka that way," Mai teased.

Zuko and Sokka frowned.

Azula and Suki were next.

"I'll act this one out," Azula declared. She reached into the box and got "betrayal."

Of course she did. When her time started, she motioned for Sokka to get up, slapped him the face and stormed away.

"BETRAYAL!" Suki yelled

"Exactly."

"I can't believe you slapped me," Sokka complained.

"You're supposed to act."

"You don't actually hit people!"

"No one told me!"

"You have to be told not to hit people!"

"I got a point," Suki was glad to be winning.

Zuko separated them. "Let's move on."

Mai drew boredom. Azula thought that was cheating since her face evokes boredom.

Katara drew anger, which again was an easy one.

Zuko was up now and he tried to act out whimsical. His attempt at being playful, however, caused Sokka to guess, "crazy, deranged, split personality, Azula and koala sheep."

"It was whimsical you idiot!"

"How am I in the same category as a koala sheep?"

"Well you both are cuddly," Ty Lee told her.

Azula hushed her. "No one's supposed to know about that."

Suki got trollup. She sat on Zuko's lap and started flirting with him

"Concubine, governor's daughter, trollup!"

"Trollup it is!"

"I like how governor's daughter was guessed before trollup," Mai snickered.

"Have you met Governor Shu's daughter?"

"I have, and I think trollup is too generous a word for her."

After three rounds, Azula and Suki won.

"Victory is sweet!" Azula declared.

"I didn't think you'd be able to act," Suki told her.

"It runs in the family," Zuko said.

"Then why were you so bad at it?" Katara questioned.

Azula snickered.

Zuko frowned.

Everyone dispersed after the game.

"See that wasn't so bad," Ty Lee told her.

"Yes, MOM!"

"Stop calling me that." It was inappropriate, given their past dalliances.

"Does that make me a mother…?"

Ty Lee covered Azula's mouth. The princess licked her hand.

"EW my hand."

"I think my tongue got the worse end of that deal," Azula retorted.

Sokka went off with Suki.

"That wasn't so bad," Suki said.

"You didn't get slapped."

"That was pretty funny."

"Not for me."

"You do realize you were her boyfriend in the skit, and you cheated on her. That's pretty funny."

"EW!"

Suki laughed as she led him to bed.

* * *

Zuko and Mai shared a drink.

"That kind of worked," Zuko said proudly.

"I must say that your plan to integrate Azula is amusing."

Aang had gone looking for Katara. "She's not in her room."

Maybe she went to hang out with Zuko and Mai. He went and found them drinking.

"Aang, why don't you join us?" Zuko said.

He poured himself a whisky with lots of ice. They started to chat.

Mai only hoped he didn't mention Katara.

The waterbender knocked on Ty Lee's door. She said come in while someone else said, "hark who goes there?"

"Azula, you're so corny," Ty Lee teased.

"Hush. I'd make an awesome pirate."

"You are fearsome enough," Katara offered.

"See, all I have to do is get an eye patch and rob vessels!"

Ty Lee shook her head. "What brings you here?"

"Just wanted to see what you were up to."

"Lies!" Azula declared. "You're hiding from that airbender.

Katara quickly shut the door. "How did you know?" She hoped he didn't hear that.

"I read people quite well. It's why Zuko hired me. He was never good at it."

"It took him two years to figure out Mai liked him," Ty Lee admitted. "Then he got banished."

"Aang's a nice guy, a really nice guy, but he and I are just too different."

Azula was surprised that Katara was confessing. "Hold on, we need booze!" Azula started searching Ty Lee's closet and found a bottle of rum. "Do you have any mixers?"

"I think I have juice in the cooler."

Katara opened it. "Your ice melted."

"Good thing you're a waterbender."

Katara made the juice cold and Azula mixed the drinks. She poured heavy.

"Aang wants us to move to the Air Temples, have lots of airbenders and to teach them his culture and traditions and I know he needs to do all that, but I'm not in a rush to get married, and I don't know how many airbenders I could give him."

"Because you're a master bender too," Azula said.

"Yes. Maybe half of our kids would be airbenders, but what about the other half? I'm afraid they won't get the same Dad that the airbenders get, and he'll be saving the world on top of that and I am daunted by the probability that I will play mother and father to resentful waterbending children."

"Maybe he'll be a good dad to all of them," Ty Lee offered.

Katara sighed. "I know he will love them all, but he has a way of getting so excited about airbending that he forgets everything else. Even when the acolytes come for him to teach them their ways, he gets so excited that he ignores me, only for me to grow resentful of this group of girls who would all marry him in a heartbeat and then we fight. I don't know if he can change the way he would have to in order for us to work, and I feel bad about trying to change him."

"It sounds like he should marry one of the acolytes," Azula said. "They're all nonbenders from what I gather."

"They are, and even though I was really jealous of them before, I think he would be better off with them. I can't imagine him married to a woman who's not one of them. His wife would be in competition with them for his attention all the time."

They had made a good dent in the bottle. "Maybe you just need to date someone else," Azula said. "He thinks he has a chance if you are single too."

"What do I say, hey please date me so my ex goes away?"

"You could say that or you could just find a hot guy to bring to the next party. Better yet, let's find you a man on the beach for New Years. One steamy New Year's kiss, and Aang will have to get over it."

"That's not very nice," Ty Lee told her.

"Since when am I nice? I'm effective. There's a difference."

Katara couldn't see herself kissing a guy just to scare Aang away. It sounded too cruel to play with him like that. She drunkenly stumbled to bed.

* * *

"Do you think Katara's dating anyone?" Aang asked Zuko.

Mai rolled her eyes internally. Here it is!

"She hasn't mentioned it."

"I know she broke up with me because she wanted to focus more on work, but as she teaches people to waterbend, they will be able to teach others. Maybe we could try again."

SHE'S NOT THAT INTO YOU! Mai screamed internally. Instead, she just gulped the rest of her drink.

"Don't close your eyes to other options," Zuko told Aang. "Maybe the right girl is just around the corner."

"Maybe," Aang didn't seem to believe it.

When they got back to their bedroom, Mai questioned, "When will he give up?"

"Maybe they can work."

"Are you stupid? She doesn't want him." Mai wondered if she ever did.

Zuko shrugged. "It's not my place to intervene."

* * *

Two days later, they went to Ember Island. It was a tight fit on Appa.

"Why didn't we take a boat?" Azula questioned. "I'm sure this poor fur ball is struggling with so many people."

Appa grunted at being called a fur ball.

"You could have taken a boat," Sokka told her, "or better yet, stayed home."

"Why don't you go home instead of mooching of our palace, you lazy, unemployed, good for nothing ingrate?"

"SHUT UP!" Zuko yelled, making Aang cringe as he had been sitting right in front of him.

"What? He has no job. He stays with his girlfriend who actually works, and he can't be a stay at home dad with no kids. What does he do? Watch the socks in case of thieves?"

Zuko was not even going to let Sokka respond. "I will turn this sky bison around and put you both on time out!"

"Toph is going to love this," Mai said dryly. She was meeting them there.

They got to the house and most of them would have to double up.

"Toph isn't here yet, so someone will have to room with her," Mai told her.

Azula and Ty Lee took the room with the bay window.

"I wanted that room," Sokka complained.

"I bet Toph could blast a hole through your wall and give you a bigger window."

He walked away angrily.

"Was that necessary?"

"He started it!"

"I can't believe she called me all those things," Sokka whined.

"What do you do all day?" Katara questioned.

"What?"

"Suki works. I work. Aang work. Zuko works. Do you see a trend?"

"What? You think I sit around and eat all day?"

"Don't you?"

He frowned. He offered ideas sometimes.

"Maybe Dad could use your help."

"Twinkle Toes!" Toph showed up at the house about an hour after they arrived. She punched the airbender in the gut. "What's going on?"

"Hey Toph," he hugged his short friend. "How have you been?"

"Same old junk. Where's everyone?"

"Um, Azula and Zuko were arguing about where to go for lunch. I think Ty Lee and Mai are sunbathing in the back and I don't remember where everyone else went."

"The street carts are closer and the line will be shorter," Zuko told her.

"That's because their food is mediocre and likely to lead to food poisoning. The turtle crab shack is tastier, cleaner and it's closer to the shops anyway."

"Which is why the line is longer?"

"You're such a dunce!"

"Sparky, Princess Firebitch, how's it going?"

"Your friend here wants to kill you with the food from the street carts."

"Poisoned food. I would at least hope you'd kill me in a duel like a man!"

"Poisoning is common in our family."

Zuko frowned.

"In that case, I won't eat your cooking."

"I don't cook. That's why we have help."

Mai suggested they split up. "Those who want to go to the street carts go with Zuko. Those who don't go with Azula."

Ty Lee and Mai went with Azula.

Everyone else went with Zuko.

"You're not going with me?"

"The street carts suck," Mai told him.

"Why didn't you say so?" Toph left her friends.

"I like them," Zuko said.

"You also like bangers and mash," Azula teased, "like a peasant!"

"HEY!"

They went their separate ways.

Toph was making various sculptures in the sand as they walked, most of them obscene.

"Is that a giant penis?" Azula questioned.

"It's sure not an oyster prawn," Toph retorted.

"I bet you can see that from the villages," Ty Lee laughed.

"How mature," Mai said dryly.

"Who doesn't like a nice rock hard cock?" Azula teased. "I mean I don't but …"

"Rock hard, you're so corny," Toph told her.

"Coming from the girl who made a penis in the sand. If you wanted complexity, you would have made a giant vagina."

Toph did that next.

"Can you get them to have sand sex?" Ty Lee questioned.

"PERVERT!" everyone told her.

The other group got to the street carts faster. Zuko and Sokka got kabobs. Katara thought the carts looked kind of dirty. "I'll get ice cream." It was prepackaged.

Aang got the fries and Suki got some fries and ice cream.

"Is that a giant penis?" Aang questioned.

They looked to see a massive sand erection.

"I bet it was Toph," Sokka laughed.

"She's making something else."

"Is that?"

"EW!" Zuko spit out his water.

"Since when do you not like vaginas," Suki teased.

"Since she's making that one menstruate."

"EW!" Sokka complained.

"GET OVER IT!" the girls yelled at them.

The girls got in line for their lunch.

"Why can't I just go to the front and demand to be seated?" Azula questioned.

"It's not nice to scare people into giving you what you want."

"Who cares if they fork it over?"

They finally got a table and Azula requested the Turtle Crab sandwich, Princess style.

"What's princess style?" Toph questioned.

"Lettuce wraps instead of the bread and extra spicy mayo."

"They named a sandwich after you?"

"I was the first to come up with it."

They got their food and Toph had to admit, "This is really good."

"Worth the wait?"

"Yeah. Sparky is missing out."

On the way to the shops, Azula saw fireworks for sale. "Could you deliver this to my house?"

"Is it on the island?"

"Yes." She wrote down the address and paid.

"Didn't Zuko get fireworks?" Mai questioned.

"His are tiny. These are going to light up the sky."

Mai shook her head.

They got there and Zuko had a smug look on his face.

"How was your lunch?"

"Delicious, unlike whatever you ate."

"The kabobs were good," Sokka insisted.

"Meat on a stick. No thank you."

"Guess you don't like men," Sokka teased.

"I don't, _little_ boys, especially not."

Katara laughed at him.

"I AM NOT LITTLE!"

"Whatever."

"Tell her SUKI!"

"I am not discussing your manhood."

"Or boyhood," Azula added.

"YOU LITTLE!"

Zuko grabbed his collar. "Restraint!"

The girls went looking for clothes.

"This one's cute," Ty Lee said as she grabbed the dress.

"Must you always buy pink clothes," Azula was so over pink.

"I like pink."

"I like conquering, but I had to broaden my horizons. You need to find a new color!"

Ty Lee rolled her eyes.

"I love that," Toph laughed. "Wearing pink is a war crime. It should be!"

Ty Lee bought her dress anyway.

Azula saw Ruon Jian checking out Katara. If he's here, does that mean …?

"YOU RUINED MY SUMMER!" Chan yelled at her.

"What?"

"You destroyed my dad's house. He still won't let me have parties there."

"Well maybe he shouldn't have let man child lose on the island."

Zuko dragged him away. "I already paid for the house. Get out." He punted the kid from the store.

"Aw, Big Brother Zuzu coming to the rescue."

"I will send you home."

They were on their way to the second store when Sokka ran off.

"What's wrong with him?" Katara questioned.

"I think he feels sick from lunch," Suki said.

"Told you," Azula said.

"But I'm fine and I …" Zuko frowned. "I need to leave." He ran off too.

"I only ate the ice cream. That grill looked nasty," Katara commented.

Sokka and Zuko were stuck drinking water and eating rice for the rest of the day.

"Damn those street carts."

The others all went swimming that night, except for Toph.

"I can't swim."

"I'll teach you," Aang volunteered. He got her to get in the water.

Katara was waterbending.

Ty Lee stole Mai's bikini top.

"Get back here!" Mai had to hide her body in the water.

Azula had a bucket. She filled it with water and crept up behind Katara. She dropped it on her head.

"AHH!" she yelled as a bucket trapped her head.

Azula swam away laughing. Toph started cracking up as well.

Katara threw a waterbending fit before Aang removed the bucket, sending whips and tentacles everywhere as her friends watched the chaos.

"What the heck was that?"

"This got on your head!"

On the bottom, it said 'Azula's bucket.'

"AZULA!"

The princess was sprinting away.

Katara made a water whip and used it to grab Azula and fling her back into the ocean.

The firebender decided to keep the prank going. When she didn't resurface, Katara retrieved her and started to panic.

She rushed the princess to the sand and started pushing water out of her lungs. When that didn't work, she tried CPR.

Azula broke away to say, "If you wanted to kiss me, you only had to ask."

"You're fine!"

Azula laughed as Katara smacked her repeatedly.

"The look on your face when you thought you killed me was so good."

"I HATE YOU!"

"No you don't."

Aang separated them. "That wasn't nice."

"It was hilarious. I was just teasing."

"Don't pretend to drown again." Katara scolded.

"YES MOM!"

"Don't call me that!"

Toph found it pretty funny. "Who would have thought Sugar Queen would lose her marbles in the ocean?"

"I know. She can waterbend like no other, but she couldn't get a bucket off her head."

Katara scowled.

Mai finally got her bikini top back.

"You're a pervert Ty Lee!"

"DUH!" Azula and Toph said at once.

"I like you," the earthbender said of the princess.

"You're not so bad."

* * *

The next day was New Years Eve. In Capital City, there were stands selling food, toys, posters and shirts. Taverns had specials on their beer. There were street performers, floats and at night, there would be a fireworks display and a countdown to midnight.

On Ember Island, however, the mood was tamer. The shops had sales and the restaurants had beer, but they didn't have the mass of people that the cities had.

It was a more serene experience. Ty Lee, Mai and Suki were sunbathing.

Toph was making obscene sculptures in the snow and Katara was waterbending, her eye on Azula. "I can't believe she put a bucket on my head."

"It was pretty funny watching you struggle," Aang admitted.

Katara glared. "I'm going to pay her back for that."

"You should."

Zuko and Sokka played kuai ball. Azula was upstairs sketching in her sketchpad.

When Aang went to get his pan flute, he heard someone whistling "March of the Wooden Soldier." It was a tune he hadn't heard since before the war. Who would know it?

He went inside the room to see Azula whistling while she drew. He walked up to her and she had a drawing of Zuko being chased by a koala sheep.

"That's a good likeness of him."

"What?" Azula turned around to see the avatar. "What brings you here?"

"Your tune. I was wondering how you knew that song."

"My grandfather liked it. It was called March of the Wooden Soldier," they both said at once.

"I haven't heard it in over 100 years."

"There's a singing group in Capital City that does classical singing," Azula said. "They probably know a lot of the tunes that you grew up listening to."

They started talking about music on their way outside. Azula knew how to play a variety of instruments. "Music was the only thing my mother and I had in common."

Her lessons stopped once Ozai disappeared. He thought it was a waste of time.

Aang never would have guessed that it would be Azula of all people that had an affinity for music. It was so emotive and free flowing; she always came across as cold and rational.

Maybe they could be friends.

Azula was about to ask Ty Lee something when a bucket of water hit her in the face.

"HAH!" Katara said triumphantly as everyone else looked shocked.

"You little wench!" Azula started chasing her. Let the games begin!

The Gaang spent the day, eating, drinking and playing on the beach. Azula realized she had to stop drinking if she wanted to be sober enough to set up the fireworks. She started raising her temperature to burn off the alcohol.

"Are you sick?" Katara questioned. "You feel warm."

"I'm burning off the booze."

"You can do that?"

"Yep."

"I feel like I stay drunk forever."

"It's because you're cold, blooded that is. Waterbenders run cold."

"Then why is Sokka such a lush?"

"That's because he drinks until he can't see straight. You can't help stupid."

"Why are you sobering up now? It won't be New Years for a while."

"I have fireworks to set off."

Azula had purchased the largest firework they had in the store. This should be fun.

As Azula started to set up her display, the others continued eating and drinking.

Toph wanted someone to kiss. Aang was single, why not him?

Aang was hoping to kiss Katara, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen? Where did she go?

"Do you think kissing someone at midnight brings good luck?" Azula asked Katara.

"I can't say I've noticed any difference between the years I kissed someone and the years that I didn't."

Azula shrugged. "I've never kissed anyone at midnight."

"Have you ever been kissed?"

"I have, but he wasn't a good idea."

"I thought you didn't like boys."

"That kiss was how I knew I didn't."

"Maybe he was just bad."

Azula shook her head. "It wasn't bad. It just felt wrong, like my insides felt all twisted up."

"Maybe you could kiss Ty Lee at midnight."

"I'm not going down that path again."

"I hadn't realized …"

"I didn't exactly advertise it."

"What happened?"

"I thought she wanted us to be together. She was, however, still sowing her wild oats."

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything."

"I know, but it must suck feeling like you were led on."

"I got over it. It wouldn't have worked anyway. We're too different." Ty Lee wants to be able to roam and travel at a moment's notice. Azula was tied to the Crown for the foreseeable future. They were like Ying and some other guy who was incompatible with Ying.

It was getting close to midnight. Azula had the fireworks show set up the way she wanted it. The smallest ones would go off at midnight precisely and the largest one would go off last. Given the distance between her display and the house, she needed to light the fireworks 5 seconds early.

When the time came, she lit the first row. They would burst in red and gold.

When the boom hit, Zuko kissed Mai, Sokka kissed Suki and Toph tried to kiss Aang, but ended up kissing Ty Lee.

The acrobat giggled. "I didn't know you felt that way about me."

"I kissed the wrong person again!" Being blind sucks sometimes!

Ty Lee hugged her. "Sorry I'm not Aang."

Aang was alone. The colors in the sky did look nice.

Katara watched as the fireworks exploded. There was something about the bursts of color that were mesmerizing.

It was time for the big kahuna. Azula set off the dragon firework, and a gold dragon with a red flame appeared in the sky.

"Where are Azula and Katara?" Mai questioned after the show was over.

They came back. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"That was you?" Sokka questioned.

"They didn't set off themselves."

For better or worse, Azula was in their Gaang.


	2. Chapter 2

**March 103AG**

Katara had been living in Republic City for a month was teaching waterbending. When she first got here, she was all alone which was new for her as she had always been at the tribe, with her brother or with Aang.

She loved them both, but it was nice to be on her own too. She didn't need her overprotective brother glaring at anyone who might have shown interest in her. She didn't need Aang's moralistic teachings in her ear all the time.

It was nice that he wanted to share what he had learned from his teachers in the Air Nations, but sometimes he acted like she was his student and not his girlfriend telling her to calm down when she got mad or encouraging her to be more understanding when people disappointed her. Who was he to tell her what to do? Sometimes, she just felt like being mad. Not being serene all the time doesn't work for her. This was one of the many reasons she had dumped him. The acolytes were fine with being both. Katara was not.

Earlier this month, Sokka took a job working for the Republic City council. She was meeting him for dinner, so they could catch up.

She wanted to see him, but she also wanted to finish the book she had been reading and didn't want to stay out too long. She went to the restaurant straight from work as her apartment was in the opposite direction.

When she got there, she was surprised to see Aang at the table. Before she could ask him why he was here, Sokka hugged her. "I'm not unemployed!" he boasted. "Azula can kiss my butt!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "She's more likely to burn it."

Sokka pouted that was probably true.

"It's good to see you," Aang said with a smile on his face.

"I wasn't expecting you."

"There's another trade negotiation going on right now."

"Right." Can't she just have one dinner with her brother? Aang's kind of a leech sometimes.

The restaurant was known for its stir-fry.

"I'll get the cow pig stir fry," Katara told the waiter.

"I'll get the vegetarian deluxe stir fry," Aang ordered.

"Can I get the cow pig stir fry with chicken as an extra?" Sokka requested.

"It's cheaper to get the chicken stir fry with the cow pig as an extra."

"Then I'll do that."

"Meathead," Katara chided.

"And proud of it!"

"How do you like it here?" Aang asked Katara.

"It's nice," she said, "although it feels a little desolate."

"I'm sure more people will move in as they get more apartment buildings finished."

"The housing isn't the problem," Sokka said. "We need more jobs, so people have a way of paying the rent."

"Oh that too."

The food was quite tasty. Sokka ate his so fast; one wondered how he could taste any of it.

Aang told them about his latest debacle with Kuei and Zuko. "They agreed to split the costs of getting the city started, but then Kuei decided at the last minute that Zuko should pay for the whole thing and well, I put them both on time out."

"How did that go?" Sokka asked him

"Azula and I finished the meeting without them, and it went fine."

"She's here?" Sokka questioned.

"She was here. I don't know how long she planned on staying."

After dinner, they went to the pub for drinks. Sokka and Aang got into a contest as to who could drink the most beer before the end of the night. Apparently, no drinking was a monk lesson Aang forgot.

"NO BENDING!" Sokka declared.

"How would my bending help me?"

"You could use it to obstruct me."

"Fine, no bending."

Sokka got the first round. Katara didn't like beer, so she just got water.

After the first two rounds, Katara got bored watching them. "I'm going to go home." She wanted to just curl up with a book and go to bed.

"Do you want us to walk you?" Aang offered.

"I can take a carriage."

"Okay," Sokka said and they continued to drink.

Katara looked for a carriage, but there were none in sight. Maybe I'll see one on the way. She started to walk. She had made it three blocks before a large man approached. He was tall with light skin and long hair. She quickly whipped him with the water in her waterskin and started to run.

He groaned when the water smacked him in the face, but he quickly recovered and pursued her. She didn't make it far before he slammed her into a wall.

"TAKE MY PURSE!" she threw it at him. The money wasn't worth it.

"I don't want your purse," he sneered. His eyes were an odd color. Katara couldn't quite figure out what color they were, but there was no soul behind them. He started to reach under her dress. His hands were large, rough and calloused. She started to hyperventilate. It was cold outside. She was too anxious to breathe. When the moonlight approached her, she thought maybe she could use her bending to escape. She reached for her waterskin to find that it was gone. He had thrown it down the street.

He tore binding off, and she crossed her legs, feebly trying to keep him from violating her.

He only laughed. "You can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Katara had only one more thing to try. She tried to bloodbend him, even though it wasn't a full moon.

It worked.

He had to drop her. "What did you (do to me)?"

The would-be rapist collapsed on the ground and started to convulse. Katara couldn't treat him without any water. She sprinted for help and found an officer.

"This man, he tried to attack me and then he collapsed."

She brought the officer to the scene where Yakone was writhing on the ground.

The officer got an ambulance and as they loaded him in the back, the officer asked Katara exactly what happened. She explained her walk home from the bar and how he had pinned her to the wall.

"I tried to get him off me, but he took my water skin. The only way I could make him stop was to bloodbend him. I just wanted him to drop me, but then something went wrong. He fell."

* * *

According to the doctor at the hospital, "He had some kind of brain aneurysm."

"Is he going to survive?"

"I think so, but he may have permanent brain damage."

Katara fainted when she heard that, and she got admitted into the hospital too.

They found her next of kin at the bar.

"Sokka?" the officer asked.

"That's me SIR!" He was drunk.

"Your sister is in the hospital."

"WHAT?"

They rushed to meet her there. The cop who escorted them didn't have much information. "All I know is a man attacked her and she got away, but she needed treatment too."

"Did he (rape her)?" Sokka stammered.

"I honestly don't know."

They got to the hospital and Katara had been sedated.

"She kept hyperventilating. I was afraid she was going to hurt herself thrashing like that, so I sedated her for the night," the doctor told them.

"I'm her brother," Sokka told him.

"Your sister is fine physically, but she had a frightful ordeal."

"I knew we should have taken her home." Aang muttered.

"What happened?"

"According to the officer who brought her here, a man pinned her to the wall and tried to molest her. She bloodbended him to get away and he collapsed. She went with that officer to the hospital and when another doctor informed her that the man might be permanently brain damaged, she collapsed. The shock must have overwhelmed her."

"Who cares what happens to him?" Sokka snapped.

"It's not uncommon for victims to have survivors' guilt."

"Even when their attacker is the one who went down?" Aang questioned.

"Especially when they were the one to take him down."

Aang could relate to that. He felt terrible when he found out all those men drowned at the Northern invasion.

"When can we see her?" Sokka questioned.

"First thing tomorrow. She'll be out all night."

Neither man could sleep. "How could this happen?" Sokka questioned.

"She probably couldn't find a taxi carriage, so she tried to walk. She should have just come back." Aang cursed himself for not being there for her.

* * *

The next day, Aang told Zuko that he'd have to suspend their meetings until further notice. "Katara is in the hospital."

"Is it serious?" It could be minor.

"OF COURSE IT'S SERIOUS!"

"Zuko didn't mean any harm," Azula said. "Sometimes minor surgery is done in the hospital too."

"Oh right. She got ambushed last night."

Zuko and Azula went with Aang to the hospital. He explained what happened on the way. Azula was somewhat terrified that Katara could bend the blood within a person, but knowing she had that kind of power was kind of hot.

Katara was just waking up. Sokka was there. "I brought you flowers. I don't know if that's appropriate for this but …"

"Thanks Sokka. I hope I didn't worry you."

"Of course you did. The guy who came to get me was like 'I don't know what happened to her, but she's in the hospital.'"

"I couldn't find a carriage and figured it was only ten blocks. I didn't make it three before that guy came running at me."

"He probably watched you leave the bar," Azula said as the others came into the room. "Predators wait in alleys hoping they'll find a girl who's too drunk to get away or fight back and wait a few blocks, so they think they're alone."

"You think he's done this before?"

"Most criminals have before they're caught."

"He had to get surgery last night," Katara said. "They cut his head open like a lime cantaloupe."

Before anyone could respond, the doctor came to check on Katara. "How are you feeling today?"

"Much better. Thank you."

"I put an IV in your arm so you'd stay hydrated. It can probably come out now. Just make sure you drink water regularly." The doctor removed it and bandaged her next arm.

"What happened to him?"

"He had to get another surgery. I think he's still on the operating table."

Aang asked her if she wanted breakfast.

"Not right now."

"Hospital food is nasty," Azula told her. "When you do want food, we should get you something across the street."

"You don't have to do that. Shouldn't you be working?"

Azula shrugged. "Who cares if Kuei's kept waiting?"

"Someone told him we weren't coming, right?" Zuko forgot.

"I told General How," Sokka told them. "Kuei wasn't there yet."

* * *

Azula decided to go for a walk outside. The room was crowded and it was probably overwhelming for Katara to have everyone staring at her. Zuko followed her.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm sure Katara could use some space. It must be awkward having everyone staring at her in such a small room."

"It is kind of creepy in there."

They got down the hall to see a pregnant woman waiting. She was crying.

"What's wrong?" Azula asked her.

"My husband. He said he was going to the market, but he didn't come back. I called the police and they suggested trying the hospital. I got here and found out he's getting brain surgery."

"How terrible?" Azula said. Is brain surgery common? First Katara's almost rapist then this woman's … Oh SHIT!

"Is this his second surgery?"

"Yes. They did one last night, but he had some new problem so they had to go back in."

It sounded like him. Azula offered her a handkerchief.

"Thank you."

"It's the least I can do."

"What if he doesn't wake up? I was going to tell him tonight that I am having his baby."

Ooh! "I hope he does wake up," really so he can answer for being a scumbag, "but if he doesn't, you will find the strength to raise your child. He or she will be like a small light in the dark."

When they left, Zuko said, "is this place known for brain surgery because everyone here is getting it?"

Azula frowned. "Don't you get it Zuzu? Her husband IS the man who attacked Katara last night."

"What?"

"He tells his wife he's going to the market. He's really going out to rape a girl in the alley, buys some snacks on the way home, and tells his wife there was a long line or something."

"SHIT!"

"Yeah. Katara was upset enough before. When she learns the wife was pregnant, she'll freak."

"We can't tell her."

"What if there's a trial or a hearing? She might find out from the court."

Zuko frowned. "Maybe we should get breakfast across the street and think about this."

They found a pancake house and began to discuss what could happen.

"At some point," Azula started, "the police are going to talk to his wife. She'll tell her story and they'll tell her the allegations about him."

"They're facts!"

"I just meant that the matter wasn't adjudicated in court. If he is capable of being tried, he will be unless he pleads guilty and if he either doesn't survive or is mentally incompetent, then the police will drop the matter. Either way, we can expect that as soon as the wife hears the allegations, she won't believe them and will want to confront Katara."

"How do you know?"

"Did she look like a woman who would believe that her husband was a rapist?"

"No," Zuko admitted.

"Which means, someone needs to warn Katara before the wife can confront her, i.e. before the police tell the wife what happened."

They settled the bill and Azula brought back a breakfast sandwich for Katara.

The waterbender was still with her brother and Aang when they returned with the food.

"Where's mine?" Sokka questioned.

"You have legs and a job."

He frowned.

"Thanks," Katara said as she bit into it, egg and cow pig, yum.

"You spent all that time getting breakfast?"

"We met some of the other families who had patients here along the way," Azula said quietly.

"Oh, maybe I should go cheer them up." Aang wandered off.

"Always avataring," Sokka said of him.

When Katara finished her sandwich, Azula and Zuko looked at each other.

_Now?_

_I think now._

Azula started. "He's married."

"Who?"

"The scumbag who tried to rape you, he's married, and his wife is here."

"Oh SPIRITS!" Katara started to panic. What if she comes here? What if he doesn't ever wake up.

"Why would you tell her that?" Sokka snapped.

"In case she tries to angrily confront her in the hospital. She probably doesn't know about his extracurricular activities, and she probably won't believe it."

* * *

Later that day, when Yakone woke up, he babbled. From what the doctors could tell, he had the intellectual maturity of a two year old. He whined for his mommy and wanted to play in the snow.

When they told his wife, she was devastated. "How am I supposed to support him and a child?"

"You have children?"

"I'm pregnant. He's going to be a father, and I never told him!"

It seemed unlikely that he would ever be able to parent with her.

When the police came, they explained to her that he had been bloodbended.

"WHAT?" Someone did this to her husband on purpose. "What kind of monster ruins someone like this?"

"I'm sorry to tell you Ma'am, but she claimed that he tried to rape her, and she was trying to escape from him!"

"My husband would never do such a thing. He was just going to the market."

She insisted that charges be brought, but given Katara's lack of a criminal record, her notifying the police right away, and her candor when they questioned her, the police decided not to arrest her.

The waterbender tried to move on. She got released from the hospital and went back to work the next day. It was there when the woman accosted her.

"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"

"I'm sorry."

"What were you, one of my husband's whores?"

"I would never do that with a married man."

"But you would take my child's father away from him."

The woman was forcibly removed from the waterbending school. Katara didn't know if she would see her again, but she started to hyperventilate. Ever since that night, she had been having nightmares about Yakone. They only got worse after her encounter with his wife.

Some days, she just felt hopeless. She tried to just forget, but her brain was stuck in a loop. No matter what other obstacles in her life she had overcome, this one had seemed insurmountable. She probably should tell someone, but she couldn't get the words out. It made everything too real.

* * *

Aang and the others had to get back to the negotiations. At least one of them would visit Katara each day and see how she was doing.

Aang would try to get her to talk about her feelings, comparing them to times when he had to hurt someone to survive and how hard it was. "He may be sick but at least you didn't kill him."

She thought it might have been easier on everyone if she had. The wife probably would have gotten insurance money or something. Now, the woman had a helpless man to take care of.

Zuko was pretty awkward when he came over. He'd offer lessons his uncle taught him, not that they were appropriate for the situation at all.

Sokka would take her to restaurants, so she wasn't cooped up in her apartment. He would mostly stuff his face while she picked at her food, and then he'd finish her plate when she didn't.

Azula had the most interesting approach. She would come over with takeout and beer and act like they were just two friends hanging out.

"How come you don't treat me like everyone else?"

"What do you mean?"

"They all try to make me feel better. You just act normally."

Azula shrugged. "I can't magically make you feel better." It would be presumptuous to assume that I could. "It's going to be several weeks or even several months before you can fully come to terms with what happened and when you do, I can be here to listen to you, but I can't just say x, y, z and expect your pain to go away."

"I wish everyone else realized that. It's like they're disappointed when I don't feel better after one of their stupid jokes."

"Your friends can't help it. They're a little stupid, but they mean well. They are men. They don't know what it is like for someone to try and take what they wouldn't give away, and they probably can't relate to how vulnerable you feel right now."

Katara opened another beer.

**April 103AG**

Katara was walking home from work. It was four blocks from her job to her apartment in a well-lit area. She was about to reach her door when she got grabbed from behind.

Inexplicably, she was back in that alley. With her hands now chained to the wall, there was no one to help her. He ripped off her clothing. She screamed for help, but no one came for her.

"You might as well try to enjoy it," he said as he got ready to spear into her.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at him for a second longer and then …

Katara woke up in yet another screaming fit. Her nightmares had now developed into night terrors. Half the time, Katara wasn't sure she was dreaming until she woke up screaming her head off. Once she was awake, she was too scared to go back to sleep. She would shiver under her covers and wait until morning.

This was her third night terror of the week and it was only Thursday. She didn't know how much longer she could go on like this.

The exhaustion was getting to her. It was hard to teach, to focus, or to even bend at this point. Her students could see her exhaustion and her inability to focus. This was in total contrast to the excited and energetic teacher who had come to the school two months before.

One student asked her if she was okay.

No she was not. "I'm just getting over the flu," she lied. "I'll be fine.

She was breaking from the inside, and she didn't know how to stop it.

**May 103AG**

It had been eight weeks since the attack, and Katara was only getting worse.

"She doesn't eat," Sokka told Suki when she came to visit. "She just picks at her food." At first, Sokka just thought more for him and finished her plates. Now he was concerned.

"She doesn't sleep either," Aang said.

Aang had been stopping by her apartment almost every day and she always looked tired, her eyes sunken in, her hair a mess. "I don't know what to do, but I have to keep trying."

"How about a girls day?" Suki suggested to Katara.

"Fine," she mumbled.

The two girls went out to brunch. The place they went was supposed to be one of the best brunches in town, but the mood at their table wasn't very happy. Suki liked her pancakes, but Katara only nibbled at her fruit salad and bread. She looked depressed.

"Do you like the bread?" Suki tried.

Katara promptly stopped eating it.

Next the went to the spa, but Katara fell asleep and then freaked out when she woke up to a massage. They quickly left and when they looked at the shops, Katara didn't want to buy anything. Even looking at Suki trying stuff on seemed to depress her.

"Have you tried a therapist?"

Katara only glared.

Suki and Sokka couldn't get her to go to one, so they found one to make a house call. Katara was livid.

"This is my apartment! You can't bring people here with my permission and you can't make me talk to him."

She ranted and raved and the doctor did leave. Sokka and Suki said all did this because they were worried about her, and they wouldn't leave until she agreed to go into this office for an appointment the following week. She agreed just to get them out and spent the rest of the day sobbing into a pillow.

Aang practically took her kicking and screaming into her appointment. The doctor tried wrapping her in blankets, so she would feel secure, like a child in the womb, but instead, she felt like she was drowning. She started screaming and crying.

Aang thought they should quit, but the doctor said to wait for her to settle down. Once the screaming stopped, the doctor unwrapped her head, so she could talk and she started screaming all over again.

"Maybe just removing the top layer would help." The doctor tried that and she forced her way through the blankets running out of the office and all the way home.

"She's clearly suffering from severe depression and possibly suffering from suicidal tendencies. I wont' be able to treat her further until she is ready to let herself get better."

Aang was at a loss. She locked herself into her bedroom, refusing to come out and since she didn't eat, she didn't have much reason to leave. What was he to do?

**June 103AG**

Katara's nightmares got only worse with time. She had to take time off work because she couldn't sleep during the night and she'd pass out during the day. Sokka tried consulting another doctor, but he balked when he heard Katara wouldn't come in voluntarily.

"She's too defensive right now," the doctor told Sokka. "She needs more time before we can help her."

Sokka didn't have time.

Aang still visited Katara every day, sometimes sleeping on the couch, but it was a struggle. He ended up getting an apartment in Republic City, so he could keep his eye on her, but she would argue with him a lot, accuse him of smothering her, and lock herself in her room for hours.

"I want to help her, but I don't know how," Aang admitted to his friend.

Desperate for ideas, Sokka wrote to their other friends.

Suki suggested she visit home, but Katara refused. Mai thought a change of venue might do her some good. Somewhere that didn't make her think of that bar or that alley.

Azula had been planning to go to Ember Island with Ty Lee and they offered to have Katara join them.

She didn't want to go, but Sokka basically ordered her.

"You need to get out of this apartment. It's not good for you. You're losing weight from under eating and every conversation turns into an argument."

"But I …"

"NO BUTS. Please, Katara, I'm begging you. Just go. See your friends. Get some salty air in your lungs. I don't know what else we can do."

She reluctantly packed her bag and Aang flew her to Ember Island. He offered to stay, but Azula said "girls only!"

They got Katara's stuff upstairs and the waterbender was surprised to see a hot tub.

"When did you get this?"

"We got it installed in May." They also didn't need to buy a heating element, since Azula and Zuko could just heatbend the water.

"Maybe a nice soak could do you some good?" Ty Lee suggested.

They got in their bikinis and got into the water. Katara was skinnier. Azula could see it, but she didn't comment.

"This is nice," Katara admitted. She had been struggling with her bending and had been avoiding large bodies of water. It's why she didn't want to go to the beach.

Ty Lee could see Katara's dark blue and gray aura. She was afraid, and it was affecting her health.

After their soak, Azula went to make lunch. She would normally suggest going out, but she knew Katara wasn't up for crowds right now and the turtle crab shack would be very crowded.

"Maybe a chi massage would help?" Ty Lee offered.

Katara nodded weakly. She'd try anything at this point. She lied down and Ty Lee straddled her back, manipulating the areas around her chakras. She could feel the chi jammed up and tried to ease the blockage. "It's been a while since you bended."

"I'm struggling with it," Katara said out loud for the first time. She was ready to cry.

"Azula struggled with her bending after the war, but now she's better again."

Before Katara could ask how, Azula said, "lunch!"

They went into the kitchen where Azula had made bibimbap.

"I've never had this before," Katara admitted.

"It used to be more popular," Azula said. "Before people wanted food that was easier to eat, like sandwiches and meat on a stick."

Ty Lee mashed it all together before she started eating. "This is how my grandma would make it."

"It's the only way," Azula smirked as she took a bite.

Katara had been eating the ingredients separately, but when she saw them mixing up the food, she did the same. It was quite delicious.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Seriously, I don't want people knowing I can cook."

"But you're good at it," TY Lee said.

"But I cook when I want to. It will become a chore if people expect it of me."

Katara wanted to ask Azula how she had gotten her bending back, but the words wouldn't come out.

That night, she had a good sleeping cycle before the nightmares started again. She couldn't breathe. Yakone was choking her and forcing his way inside. She cried and flailed but there was no one to help her. Suddenly, she found herself in a bear hug.

Azula had come into her room and calmed her down. "It's just a dream. He can't get you here."

Eventually, Katara stopped shaking. Azula held her until she went to sleep and then she returned to her room.

Katara woke up holding her pillow.

"You left," she said to Azula at breakfast.

"I didn't realize you wanted me to stay."

"Stay for what?" Ty Lee wondered. She slept like a log.

"Nothing. We just had sex!"

"LIAR!" Katara shoved her.

"No reason to deny it. I'm quite good."

Katara rolled her eyes.

They spent the next few days on the property. Azula and Ty Lee took turns cooking and for the first time in months, Katara was eating regularly and sleeping okay. She was starting to get better.

On the fifth day, she finally asked, "how did you get your bending back?"

Azula turned to her. "I was diagnosed with PTSD," she started. "The doctors tried all of the conventional methods, but they couldn't get the voices out of my head or the nightmares to stop. Finally, they found a new doctor out of Ba Sing Se who suggested that I try cannabis.

Apparently, the right strain can help with anxiety and a loss of appetite. Once I calmed down and was eating and sleeping better, they were able to make more progress with me and let me out of the asylum. My bending still wasn't back. Ty Lee suggested I try meditation and when Aang took me to Guru Pathik, he was able to help me open my chakras again. I had to confront my past before I could move forward."

"How long did it take?"

"From when I made the visit to Guru Pathik to when I could bend again, it took a few weeks. The whole process though was about six months. You're not delusional, so it would probably not be so bad for you."

"Where do I start?"

Azula offered her a jay. Katara put the end in the mouth and Azula lit the other. "Just take a small puff and exhale."

Katara did. It had this strange herbal taste and a funky smell. "It smells weird."

"They say the smellier it is, the better the high. I don't know if that's true or not."

They went back and forth. Azula put it out after the third pass. "We'll see how you feel. I wouldn't want to give you too much at once."

It didn't really set in for another 15 minutes. Katara could feel this warmth that she hadn't had in a long time.

It definitely impacted her appetite. Azula had to make more stir-fry after Katara demolished what she had put out.

They stayed in the vacation house for ten days. On the eighth day, Katara was ready to go out. They didn't stay out long. They just went to the turtle crab shack and did some window-shopping, but Katara was beginning to feel whole again. She wasn't sure if or when the feeling would come back.

At the end of the trip, Aang came to take Katara home.

"Thanks for everything," Katara hugged both of them.

"You are more than welcome."

"Come again!" Ty Lee said.

"How was your vacation?" Aang asked her.

"It was nice."

She sounded happy for the first time in a while. Maybe she was coming back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Two Weeks Later**

Azula had given Katara some weed to bring back with her. She would have to obtain a prescription if she wanted more, but this would likely last her a month. When Katara failed her joint rolling class, Azula suggested she buy a pipe. In the meanwhile, she had four perfectly rolled joints from Azula.

The waterbender got back to her apartment. Aang was already there. He asked if she needed anything, and she said she was fine. She wasn't well, but she was much better.

Aang said he was going to check on Appa and would be back in an hour. Katara went out on her balcony and light a "cigarette."

She would smoke ¼ of one at a time and would do this every other day to keep her anxiety down and her hunger up. Azula had warned her that some people had compulsive behavior when they smoked too much. There was even a warning label that came on the back of the package.

Katara had been looking for a new doctor, but none in the area prescribed cannabis. It was a fairly new treatment option. Katara pondered if she should fly to Ba Sing Se in order find one.

Aang fed Appa and brushed him.

"I know you like living in the temple better, but Katara needs me right now." Appa was boarded at a farmer's barn while he was in Republic City

He snorted.

"She's been a lot better over the past couple of weeks. Maybe in a few more weeks, she would consider moving back into the temple with me."

Appa nodded.

* * *

Aang picked up some snacks on the way home. When he got there, Katara was in the shower. "I brought you those sesame balls you like!" He went to bring them into her room and smelled marijuana. "Why does it smell in here?"

Katara came out of the shower and questioned him. "What are you doing in my room?"

"I brought you some sesame balls and why does it smell like weed?"

"Because I had some earlier. If you don't mind, I need to get dressed."

It's not like I haven't seen it before, he thought as waited outside her door while she dried off and put on clothes. When he came back into her room, she eagerly stopped eating the snacks.

"Why would you start doing drugs?"

"I'm not doing it for fun. It's to help with my anxiety and loss of appetite."

"Did you go to a doctor?" She hadn't told him about it.

She shook her head. "Azula got some prescribed from her doctor, and she gave it to me. She thought it would help."

"And what if it made things worse?"

"But it didn't. I don't get the shakes anymore. I eat all my meals, and I've been feeling so well, I'm thinking about going to get my old job back."

"Already?" He thought it might be too soon.

"It's been almost two months since I worked last. I want to get back to it."

Aang thought she should see a doctor before she went to work again, and definitely before she used any more cannabis.

Katara was sick of him acting like her father. "I am looking for a doctor who can help me. I just haven't found one in this city. I might need to go to Ba Sing Se."

"Then we can go next week."

Katara didn't need a babysitter, but she knew Aang wouldn't go away any time soon. "Fine."

She kept smoking. He kept objecting to it.

* * *

Dr. Sing was a busy man, but when he heard the avatar was in his waiting room, he managed to squeeze in an appointment for Katara.

She explained what happened to her in April, and the symptoms she had been having since then. She mentioned that her friend had seen him about two years ago, so she decided to see if he could help her.

He asked her what other treatments she had tried. The first therapist tried talk therapy and the cocoon method (getting wrapped in blankets, so you feel comforted while you talk about your issues), but it only freaked her out.

"A lot of my patients get anxious with treatment methods that involve getting their personal space," he noted, which is why he didn't use the cocoon method. "Sometimes, it helps to take something to alleviate the worst symptoms and then focus on curing the cause."

He wrote her a prescription for .5g/week. "I try to start small and up it as necessary instead of the other way around. Too much can induce paranoia." He also upped it for people a lot, but he didn't want any trouble with the authorities that suspected he was just a licensed drug dealer. He did believe in marijuana's medicinal properties, even if some of his patients would eventually abuse it.

"I recommend Paradox to fill your prescription. It's a cannabis supply store down the street from the Jasmine Dragon."

"I know where that is, thank you."

"It's called Paradox?"

Katara shrugged. The store had a lot of psychedelic paintings and artwork, which was unexpected.

When she showed them her prescription they let her, but not Aang, in the back where they had a row of different jars of cannabis.

"I don't know where to start."

"Do you want a head high or a body high?"

"Um, I don't know if I know the difference."

"Head highs are more energetic. Body highs are more for chilling on the couch."

"Which one would I take for anxiety or appetite stimulation?"

He picked out a hybrid called chocolate cookies. She showed him her prescription and he put a month stamp on it. She bought two grams.

Aang asked, "what's it like in there?"

"They have a big room and rows of different strains depending on what condition you have and then they weigh it out before you buy it. They stamp your prescription, so you can't buy more than you are allotted."

Aang still thought this was a bad idea, but she had made up her mins

* * *

They stopped by the Jasmine Dragon on the way back.

"Aang, Katara, it's good to see you." Iroh greeted them warmly.

"Hi Iroh," Katara said as she hugged him back. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Just dealing with the summer rush. Are you two here for long?"

Aang shook his head. "Just for today."

"And you came to visit me?" he grinned.

They shared a cup of tea.

Iroh asked if they'd be in Ba Sing Se for the End of the War party next month.

Aang said yes as Katara said maybe.

"You're not coming?" Aang questioned.

"I'm not sure yet." She wasn't sure how she would do with a big crowd of drunken people.

"Well, I hope to see you two there."

After they left, Aang asked, "When were you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you weren't sure if you were going?"

"I didn't realize I had to tell you."

"I mean I thought we could go together."

"I don't want to get back together with you."

"I know it's too soon, but maybe someday."

NO! NO! NO! "Maybe you should ask Hei Won. She likes you."

When Katara got home, she tried out her new strain. It felt lazier than Azula's prescription, but that was kind of nice. She sat back on the couch and ate cookies. The strain title was beginning to make sense to her.

**August 103AG**

Aang and Katara had sat down at a café. They were about to order lunch when Azula and Ty Lee approached.

"Mind if we join you?"

Katara greeted them happily. "Of course not!"

"How are you Tara?" Azula asked her.

Since when do people call her Tara? Aang wondered.

"I'm doing well. I started going to my job part time." She teaches one class instead of four like she had before.

"Is your bending better?" Ty Lee asked.

Aang asked, "What was wrong with it?"

Katara answered Ty Lee. "Yes, but I'm teaching a beginner's class for now." Part of her bending issues had been the anxiety. The rest appeared to be more spiritual. She would ask Aang, but he makes her anxious.

They got a bigger table and ordered.

Azula tried to order the bibimbap, but Katara said she'd be disappointed.

The waiter frowned.

"In that case, I'll get the sweet and sour cow pig."

"I tried the bibimbap my first time here. It wasn't as good as I had hoped."

"I'm not surprised," Azula said.

"What brings you to Republic City?" Aang questioned.

"We came to help Zuko with the planning and then figured we'd visit Katara."

"How long are you here?"

Azula shrugged. "At least for a month. I'm not sure how much longer. It depends on how quickly the work progresses."

* * *

After lunch, Aang had to get to work. Azula and Ty Lee took Katara shopping.

"You look good," Azula told her.

Katara smiled. "I feel much better now. I went to see Dr. Sing."

"You got a prescription."

"Yeah. Aang took me," Katara said dryly.

"Let me guess. He thought tinctures and meditation were the clear solution."

"Yeah. I just don't want to drink onion banana juice and hear some spiritual crap."

Azula laughed. "It's not for everyone."

"Are you going to the party next week?" Ty Lee asked.

Katara shrugged. "I wasn't sure if I'll go."

"If you want company, Zuko's making me go," Azula said.

"Really?"

"He thinks I need to socialize with the people we work with. I don't know why."

Ty Lee grinned. "I think it will be fun!"

"Maybe I will go," Katara said.

"Can you put your hair in a topknot and say you're me?"

Katara laughed. "I don't have the skin tone for that, or any of the other requisite features."

"Fine, be practical!"

They walked around and Azula looked for a dress for the ball. "Zuko won't let me wear my armor."

"I wonder why," Katara said mockingly.

"Because he thinks I'll scare …"

Katara was laughing.

"You were making fun of me."

"DUH!"

Azula started chasing her around the store. Katara evaded but Azula was too fast. She tackled the waterbender and they started wrestling. The storeowner was not amused.

* * *

"I can't believe she kicked us out," Azula complained.

"You did start a ruckus."

"You started it," she said to Katara.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"You both are toddlers," Ty Lee retorted.

That evening, they all went out for dinner. Katara was relieved to have someone around other than Aang and Sokka.

Sokka and Aang were both baffled by the seemingly close relationship between the two female benders.

Ty Lee thought they were starting to fall in love.

* * *

Two days later, Aang had to go deal with a riot in Ba Sing Se. He asked Sokka if he could look in on Katara while he was gone and Sokka asked Azula to do it. "I don't know why, but she responds better to you."

Azula and Ty Lee showed up with ingredients to make a proper bibimbap.

Katara opened the door. As Azula started to get her mise-en-place ready, Ty Lee commented, "I didn't know Aang lived here."

"He doesn't. Sokka asked him to check in on me, and he basically never left."

"Let me guess, he alternates trying to take care of you like you're a toddler and trying to get you to go out with him," Azula retorted.

"Basically," Katara sighed.

"He can't have it both ways. If he thinks you need care, then he can't in good conscious provide it and try to date you and if he thinks your ready to date or at least to commit to dating then he has to give you some space."

"Can you tell him this?"

"I could, but you should."

"Curse you and your logic!"

Ty Lee started talking about some guy she thought was cute. Azula didn't remember him.

"He was the cute one with the dark hair and the green eyes."

"I'm gay. I don't know what boys are cute. If I see a boy that I think looks cute, he turns out to be a girl with no rack."

Katara laughed loudly.

"It's happened to me twice." Azula was more of an ass girl anyway.

"Well, he was cute, and he was a man."

"Whoop de doo!"

Ty Lee rolled her eyes. "Are there any boys that caught your eye Katara?"

She shook her head. "I haven't really looked."

"Maybe you'll meet someone cute at the ball."

"I might," Katara said. She wasn't sure if she should get out there yet.

They ate dinner and had some wine.

"Aang thinks drinking will just continue my depression."

"Are you depressed?"

"The first doctor thought so, but he freaked me out, so I didn't go back."

"My first diagnosis was wrong too," Azula told her. They said she was sociopathic with psychosis, but Dr. Sing said that all of her symptoms could be linked to severe PTSD.

"I feel fine right now."

"Just take it day by day," Azula said. "Even if you do have depression, it comes and goes. It's not a continuous event all the time."

Ty Lee pouted. "It's empty!"

"We'll get another one tomorrow."

When it was time to go, Katara asked Azula to stay. "I sleep better when you're around."

Azula found Ty Lee a carriage back to their apartment and stayed with Katara.

She didn't have a nightgown there, so she slept in one of Aang's t-shirts. It was baggy enough to reach her mid thigh. "Can he even fit into this?"

"It was probably a gift. He gets all kinds of clothes and shoes in the wrong size."

The two girls spooned in Katara's bed.

The firebender smelled like cinnamon. Katara breathed in deeply as she fell asleep.

Azula woke up with Katara's head on her breast. She seemed nice and cozy and Azula didn't want to wake her up, but she had to teach her class. The firebender started making breakfast while Katara slept a little more.

When Katara did wake up, she threw on her clothes. I don't have time to make …

Azula had breakfast for her, bacon and eggs with a bowl of fruit.

"I can put the bacon and eggs in a sandwich if you have to go."

"Um, I can eat here."

Katara did have to eat quickly. "Thanks for breakfast!" She ran out the door, having to get to class.

* * *

Azula got home and Ty Lee had a smug look on her face. "How was last night?"

"It was fine."

"Just fine or she was fine!"

"We just slept."

"Really?" Ty Lee was surprised.

"What?"

"I thought you had more game than that."

"She's not into me, and even if she were, I'm not that much of a jerk. She still has night terrors."

"Oh," Ty Lee thought she had made up the sleeping excuse.

"I also slept in her room at the beach house."

"I assumed you two were just doing it."

"Not everyone climbs into bed for sex."

"It is more fun that way."

"She needs to get her confidence back. The Katara I knew wouldn't have let Aang hold her life hostage, no matter what her brother thought."

"You have a point. She's getting a lot better. I could see it in her aura."

"Well now, I'm relieved."

"You are welcome."

Azula made a face.

"You were mocking me!"

"DUH!"

Ty Lee hit her with a pillow and they fought. Then there was a knock on the door.

It was Sokka.

"How was Katara?"

"She was fine."

"She ate?"

"Yes and she slept fine from what I can tell. I saw her at breakfast."

"Oh good." Sokka didn't stay long. He had to get to work.

"None of them think she can take care of herself."

"Well, you did kind of take care of her," Ty Lee pointed out.

"It was just breakfast."

"And dinner and helping her sleep. Maybe you should stay for a while. It would get the others off her back, and she might get better faster."

"Maybe I should."

* * *

Aang came home the next day. When he did, it was the middle of the night.

Katara had just started having a night terror. She was flailing and screaming, causing both Aang and Azula to be concerned.

"Tara, it's just me." Azula hugged her to calm her down. Katara was just about to fall asleep when Aang rushed in the room. He flipped on the light.

"What are you doing in here?" He started yelling at Azula. She tried to explain that she was just helping her get to sleep when Aang insisted he was taking advantage of her.

"She's not ready to start dating again or get into some kind of friends with benefits arrangement."

He kicked Azula out of the apartment in the middle of the night.

Katara was livid. "You had no right to come into my bedroom and tell me who I can have over."

"But you don't even like girls."

"Then what wee you so worried about."

She had a point. "I was just …."

"Acting way too much like my father. This is my apartment, and if you don't respect my choices, you don't need to be here." She threw his stuff out, forcing him to stay in his own apartment tonight.

Ty Lee found it odd when Azula came home at 3AM.

"What happened?"

"Aang came home and threw a hissy fit. I had to leave."

"You left Katara there?"

"He won't hurt her. It was me he was aiming for."

Ty Lee frowned. He was jealous!

The next day, Katara made Aang apologize for his rude behavior.

"I threw him out last night," Katara told her afterwards.

"Oh so it was walk of shame night in your apartment."

"Shut up!"

* * *

All seemed to be normal again when they left for Ba Sing Se to go to the End of the War Party.

They would all be sitting with their respective countries. Aang offered to have Katara sit with him, but she refused. "I can't avoid my father forever." She had been too terrified to talk to him before.

When they arrived, they had to change into their outfits. Azula had on a strapless red dress that showed off her cleavage generously.

"Someone's looking to get lucky," Ty Lee teased.

"I figured if I have to wear a dress, I might as well make sure I stand out."

"Oh you do!"

She caught many men's eyes that night. Those with wives were quite unhappy.

Zuko frowned. "That's not exactly what I had in mind."

"Good thing you're not my tailor."

Mai snickered. "Maybe you should have let her wear her armor. Those things might inspire a war." You could feel the angry eyes on their table.

Ty Lee sat on one side of Azula. Mai sat on her other side and then it was Zuko, Iroh, and Suki was there as Zuko's personal bodyguard. The rest of the warriors were with the Earth Kingdom.

Iroh started talking to Zuko about something from his banishment. Mai asked Ty Lee how she liked Republic City.

"Everything is so nice and new."

"There isn't any culture yet. The air feels stale from the lack of liveliness," Azula commented.

"It's not that bad."

"What is there to do other than eat and drink?"

"What else should there be?"

"They have no holidays or festivals. They don't have any music or theatre. How do they plan on attracting people without recreation?"

"But aren't they all about being modern and different from the other cities?"

"So why not build an amusement park?"

"LIKE RIDES AND GAMES!" Ty Lee exploded.

"Don't make me deaf, but yeah, using modern technology to make it unique and interesting."

"We have to do this!"

"We don't have to do anything. We should suggest it, so the people who actually get paid to make this city better maybe do it."

"What is your role if not making the city better?" Iroh questioned.

"My job is to make sure we don't breach any of our international obligations with regards to United Republic. I couldn't care less if Republic City falls on its face after we did everything we promised to do."

"You're such an optimist," Iroh told her.

"They have a council whose job it is to make the city good. Why should I do their work when they get paid to do it?"

* * *

Katara hugged her father after not seeing him for almost a year. "I missed you Dad."

"Why didn't you come home?"

"I didn't know how to face you after what happened." She had to answer all these invasive questions when they gave her a rape kit as part of her exam. She was afraid her father would find out about her history with Aang, and she couldn't bear to face him.

"It wasn't your fault."

"I know but …"

"Just come home when you're ready. Your Gran Gran misses you."

"I miss her too."

The acolytes were happy to see Aang. "We haven't seen you in months!"

"I know, but I got caught up with work."

"You should give us more Air Nation lessons after the party."

The girls started clamoring about his return, even though he hadn't committed to it yet.

The food started coming out. The Air Nation had a special vegetarian menu. Everyone else got meat and fish with their veggies and rice.

Sokka had a meat and fish pile on his plate. Katara had a good portion of fish and veggies on her plate. She might have had some special cookies with Azula and Ty Lee before they got with the party, since she wouldn't be able to smoke in the palace.

Azula was excited about her plate. "I love spicy cow pig!"

"Are you going to be able to eat all that?" Zuko questioned

"Yes!" She proceeded to do just that.

Half way through the meal, he grabbed her face and looked into her eyes. "How high are you?"

"Not that high."

"Azula!"

"I have a prescription."

"Which your doctor keeps auto refilling even though he hasn't seen you in months."

"He's busy!"

"Well you should go back. Maybe you don't need it anymore."

"What do you know about anxiety?"

He looked at Ty Lee who also had dilated pupils. "You don't have a prescription for anything, although maybe you should get one for your ADD."

Mai smacked his head. "Don't be rude."

Iroh was skeptical about Azula's medicine, not that it couldn't be effective for some people, but he didn't think there was a drug strong enough to make her normal. She had always been creepy, like she was born to wage war and torture. He didn't seem to remember that those behaviors are learned, and he had once been a master.

* * *

After the meal, people started to go to the bar or to the dance floor. Sokka got a drink for himself and Suki. She could have one or two, but she couldn't get drunk tonight.

Azula had no such restriction. She waved her hand and gave the waiter two coins to bring her a rum punch.

"You're supposed to go to the bar," Ty Lee told her.

"That's why I paid him. I'm not getting up or waiting in line."

The waiter came back with her drink. "If you keep them coming, there will be a good amount of money for you."

"You're terrible," Mai told her.

"It's called capitalism!"

"You just heard about that!"

"So!"

Azula threw back her drink. "How many of these do you think I can drink before I have to talk to Kuei?"

"Isn't he over there?" Ty Lee teased.

Azula emptied the glass before she turned around. "He wasn't there, you liar!"

"Don't encourage her," Zuko told Ty Lee.

Azula waved her hand. Another drink was on the way.

Zuko put his head on the table.

Aang got up to ask Katara to dance, but Toph saw him first. "Twinkle Toes, long time no see!"

"Hey Toph."

She asked him if he wanted to dance and not wanting to be rude, he accepted. She was cute, but she was Toph. She just wasn't Katara.

Katara thought it was safe to get a drink before she saw Chief Arnook.

"Katara how are you?"

"I'm just fine Chief. How are you?"

"Good. Do you know Hahn?"

CRAP! The suitors begin. She got bored to death by Hahn while Toph danced with Aang, Sokka sat with Suki while she was guarding Zuko, and Azula got around waiting in the line for the bar.

One of the Council of Five watched her behavior. "I must say, you found a way to win. The drinks just keep coming to you," General Sung said as she drank.

"I bribed a waiter."

"Why didn't I think of that?"

"I've always been one for simple solutions."

"Was Ba Sing Se simple?"

"Yes. I found one traitor, got him to turn on his king and got his traitorous employees to turn on him, stole some uniforms to make myself look like I belonged and walked in the door without attacking any gates. It was like a turtle crab stealing a shell from a turtle duck."

"I suppose that is simple."

"Simple isn't always easy. It just means you can see where all of the dots connect when you look from above."

General Sung bribed the waiter to get a whiskey neat.

When he finished it, he asked the Princess to dance.

Not wanting to be rude, she accepted the offer.

Katara found herself dancing with some guy from the Northern Water Tribe. She knew they were hoping that Katara would agree to be the princess of their tribe and her husband would be the chief, but she wasn't ready to commit to any of their men or to living in the north at all. They still were too patriarchal for her.

She turned and saw Azula dancing with General Sung. This was a story she had to hear.

"Did you know there's a rumor that Kuei might be sterile?"

"How would they know if it's him or the woman?"

"They tried a few women after the war and nothing."

"That would be a problem. Isn't he an only child?"

"Yes."

"What would they do if he had no heir?"

"The nobles would vote amongst the Council of Five."

"I always appreciate useful information, but why are you sharing it with me?"

"Well, if I were let's say married to a Princess and had a strong earthbending heir, which might be tricky with your bloodline, but not impossible, then I would have a good chance of becoming King."

"You would marry me to become the Earth King?"

"You're much prettier than the last Earth Queen?"

She laughed. "I'm not exactly of the right persuasion."

"I know, and as long as you were discreet, you would be able to have women of your liking. It's not a guarantee by any means. It's just an idea."

"I'll keep it under advisement."

"It's all I ask."

* * *

Aang eventually cut in, taking Katara away from random water tribe boy.

"I thought they were never going to stop. Arnook must have found five different suitors for me."

"He probably thinks he's helping."

How ironic? "Yeah."

Toph wondered if Aang would ever notice her. "He's always fucking chasing Sugar Queen."

"Bad night?" Azula asked. She didn't dance with Sung too long, lest it look suspicious.

"You could say that."

"Well I'm probably too drunk to be polite company, so we can chat somewhere else."

"Now you're talking." Toph got a large whiskey and they went out to the patio.

"I've been trying to get Aang to notice me since New Year's, but I accidentally kissed Ty Lee at midnight and no matter what I do, I can't get his attention."

"No girl will until he accepts that Katara doesn't want him anymore. I know what it's like to have an unrequited affection for someone, and you have to move on for your own sanity. It's not fair to hold yourself back from what could be a great love because you're hung up on a guy who's too idealistic to realize that his ex-girlfriend doesn't love him."

Toph growled. "Is it really hopeless?"

"Maybe not forever, but it is today, tomorrow and the day after that."

Toph finished her whiskey. "Am I pretty?"

Azula looked at her honestly. "Yes, but this fancy dress and heels isn't you. I think you look better in that leather top and tight pants you usually wear."

"Really?"

"You look best when you're comfortable. When you're on edge, it shows."

"Is Katara prettier than I am?"

"It's hard to say one way or the other. It's a matter of taste, but I don't think your looks are why Aang hasn't noticed you."

"Really? How do you know?"

"She's naturally a nurturing person, and I think he thinks he loves her because he's never had a nurturing woman before. He didn't know his mother growing up. The Air Nation had its monastery, but that's not the same as being in a household with two parents. They say every girl wants to marry her father and every boy wants to marry his mother.

What they mean is for men, their mother is the first woman they have a strong connection to. They instinctively compare every subsequent woman to her, but since Aang doesn't have a mother for that role, he uses Katara, and since she's not actually related to him, he was able to date his 'mother.'

In your case, your father was probably the first man you had a strong connection to. You use him as your example of what a man is and in some respects you compare every man you date to him, assuming you date men. If you have a good relationship with your father, then your boyfriends will probably be similar in terms of temperament and personality. If on the other hand, you have a father who's overbearing, you might find yourself drawn to a free spirit."

"You think I like Aang because he won't keep me under his thumb."

"There's nothing wrong with that, but there may be a number of men who can offer the same thing, men who can see how pretty you are on the inside and out."

"Thanks." She punched her afterwards.

Ty Lee finally found Azula. "There you are. I've been looking for you."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your bodyguard."

"So, you're drunk."

"I'm still supposed to care."

"You are hiding from a creepy guy."

"Yeah. That guy I thought was cute before. He turned out to be a scumbag."

"What's new?"

"Drink with us Giggles!"

The three girls had a fun time making fun of everyone at the party.

* * *

Meanwhile, Katara wanted to get away from Aang. She lied and said she had to go to the bathroom.

"Do you need any help?"

"It's the bathroom!"

She went off alone and on her way to pretend she was using the ladies' room, she heard laughing.

She went out to the balcony to see Toph with Azula and Ty Lee.

"What are y'all doing out here."

"Ty Lee's hiding from a perv. I'm drunk and Toph is lamenting because men are stupid."

"Tell me about it. Arnook unleashed all of his single men tonight."

"So they're chasing you and Aang too, I hate you!" Toph hissed drunkenly.

"You can have them all," Katara told her. "They're making me consider women."

"Azula is available," Ty Lee advertised.

"Thanks for your support."

"She's good!"

"Whom haven't you slept with?" Toph questioned.

"I've only slept with six people." That was five more than Azula and Katara and six more than Toph.

"Where am I on the list?"

"You're two and five."

"What?" Katara questioned.

"She was the second person, but I decided post war Azula is really more like two different people, so she's also fifth."

Azula didn't know what to make of that at all.

Eventually, the girls went back to the party. Aang asked Katara if she was sick.

"No, I ran into some other girls and you know how they talk."

"Oh."

* * *

At the end of the night, Ty Lee suggested a girls' night.

Toph and Katara came over to their inn room. Mai went to Zuko's room and Suki went with Sokka.

Ty Lee had a bottle of wine, and they cracked it open.

"So which suitor was the worst?" Toph asked Katara.

"Hahn was the most pompous, but Kai had really bad breath."

"EW!"

Ty Lee had thought this Earth Kingdom noble was cute, "but he tried to grab my ass after knowing me for a half hour."

"EW!"

Only General Sung had courted Azula.

"What?"

"Doesn't he know you're gay?"

"He doesn't mind that part. He thinks I might be able to help him advance his political standing."

"But he's already in the council," Toph told her.

"But he's not the leader. General How will retire eventually," Azula said, which was true but misleading.

"Whoa!"

"Would you do that?" Katara asked her.

"I'd rather not, but who knows. Maybe it will be my best offer. He said I could have side girlfriends."

"Now that's a progressive marriage, well sort of," Ty Lee said.

They became sleepy after the booze. There were two beds and a couch in the room, so Toph took the couch, Ty Lee took a bed and Azula shared with Katara.

Toph was surprised that Ty Lee and Azula didn't share instead. She wondered why.


	4. Chapter 4

**September 103AG**

Aang did want to spend some time with the acolytes now that riots were slowing down. He didn't, however, want to leave Katara alone. He talked to Sokka about it.

"Maybe Katara will just go home. She did talk to Dad about it."

When Aang told Katara his reservations about going back to the temple, she got annoyed with him. He was not her babysitter, but decided she needed a break from him anyway and said, "I think I will go home."

"Good."

He gave her a ride, and then came back north to get to the Southern Air Temple.

* * *

It had been a year now since Katara had been home. It felt different than she had remembered. She realized they moved the tribe back and expanded laterally, giving people more space between their homes.

It actually seems like there's privacy here.

Katara found her Gran Gran's house and knocked.

"Come in!"

Katara walked in. "Gran Gran!"

"My Baby!" She hugged her warmly. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Gran Gran."

"I was so worried about you, living by yourself in a big city."

"I'm fine, well mostly fine."

They had tea and she explained her year, the highlights and the lowlights.

"Did this jerk go to jail?"

She shook her head. "He's brain damaged. It would be like trying a two year old."

"Oh!"

"His wife is pregnant. Her child is never going to know its father, well as a father."

"Well given his behavior maybe it's for the best."

"Gran Gran!"

"What? He might be violent with children. If he could attack you in the street, he could do anything."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"You mustn't blame yourself. Most women wouldn't have been able to get away."

"I don't want to bloodbend anymore." She never wanted to learn in the first place.

"Hopefully, you won't have to, Honey."

Katara needed this time to recharge. Kanna could see that right away.

* * *

Aang made it back to the Southern Air Temple and the girls all hugged him.

"You're home."

"Yeah, I'm going to start your next unit."

The girls were all eager to hear about his work in Republic City and to try and see what his future plans were with the temple and his personal life.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Won Yee questioned.

"No."

"What about Katara?" Yee-Li questioned.

"She wanted to stay friends."

"You'll find someone new," Hei-Won told him. "Maybe you already have."

Each girl would kill the others to date him, but he wasn't receptive to their desires. He could only think of one waterbender who he knew in his heart he was supposed to marry.

He spent the next three weeks teaching them about the different festivals and rites of passage from when a child would first learn to airbend until the day he was ready for his master tattoos. He explained the tattooing methods and the moves you had to do in order to prove mastery.

They cheered as he demonstrated different airbending moves and he took them up on his glider, so they could feel what it was like to be in the air. Each girl complained that the other girls got more time, and they all ended up going in the air with him again.

He did enjoy the attention they paid to him. They were so nice and warm. Katara had been snapping at him lately. They should talk about it.

* * *

Katara had spent her time at home helping guide the ships with Pakku and helping Gran Gran with her chores. It felt nice doing things she could do with her eyes closed.

Pakku asked her a question when they walked home. "It seems that your bending hasn't been as strong as it once was."

She sighed. "After the attack, I had a lot of trouble with it. Ty Lee helped with some chi massages, but I don't feel up to full strength yet. It's not physical and I don't think it's mental either."

"Maybe it's spiritual. Have you tried asking Aang?"

"No. He still wants me back and it's hard to be around him for too long."

Pakku understood. He had seen many a boy chase women and fail repeatedly growing up. "Maybe you could find a guru or something."

Katara suddenly remembered Guru Pathik. She wrote to Azula, asking if she could take her to meet him.

Azula wrote back, saying she would come with a sky ship and they could go from her tribe to the Eastern Air Temple.

* * *

Two days after Katara received the reply, a sky ship with a Fire Nation insignia came to the tribe. It couldn't land on the ice, so it had to land in the water. It was sufficiently watertight for that, but it should not be sailed like a conventional ship.

Some of the men panicked when they saw the ship, and they grabbed their spears.

Katara, conversely, ran to the ship and hugged Azula tightly when she got to her, almost making her fall.

"You ask for me and I shall come."

"You said come!" Ty Lee laughed.

"You're such a slut!"

"I shall come!" Ty Lee said repeatedly.

"Let me introduce you to my family."

"Um!" Before Azula could object, Katara grabbed her and introduced her to Pakku and then Gran Gran.

"She's going to take me to Guru Pathik, so I can get my chi flowing again."

"How nice?" Gran Gran didn't know anything about gurus or chi, so she was confused. "Doesn't she look like the princess?"

"Princess Azula, at your service."

"We haven't had royalty here since your brother tried to hold me hostage."

"Well I promise not to hold you hostage. Zuko never had good table manners."

"You held me hostage."

"Not in your own home!"

Katara rolled her eyes. She took Azula to meet Hakoda who only said, "we've met before."

"We have?"

"You almost killed me."

"Dad! Don't be rude," she chastised him before they left. "I'll be back soon!"

They got back on the ship and headed for the Eastern Air Temple.

* * *

Aang came back to the tribe to see if Katara wanted to spend some time in the Southern Air Temple before going back to Republic City. When he got there, he was surprised to learn from Hakoda that, "she left with Azula?"

"Yeah. They were going to some temple."

"Which temple?" She wouldn't have written to Azula to take her to his temple. He could have done that. The western and northern temples were both closer to home, so he could have taken her on the way back. "Did they go to the Eastern Air Temple?"

"I have no idea."

Aang tried Gran Gran who said; "she said something about a guru and her chi."

"Guru Pathik."

"Yeah."

Why didn't she just ask me for help? Even if I couldn't help, I would have taken her there.

* * *

They had just gotten to the Eastern Air Temple. They had started to rebuild it, but it was still a ways away from completion. Aang focused on the Southern Air Temple as it had been his home before the war and the air acolytes were starting there. Once he had more acolytes, he would have some move to the Eastern Air Temple.

"It was gorgeous," Azula said of the now ruined temple. She had never thought they would be pretty. She actually thought the Western Air Temple was ugly.

"It will be again," Ty Lee said.

They started looking for Guru Pathik.

They found some lemur monkeys and Azula asked one where Guru Pathik was.

They started to run. The girls followed them and found the super centenarian meditating.

"Princess, it has been some time since I have seen you last." He could recognize her cinnamon scent. He had yet to open his eyes.

"Guru," she bowed. "I came with my friends Katara and Ty Lee. I believe you have met her before."

"Katara, welcome back."

"Thank you. I have been having trouble with my waterbending. I was hoping you could help."

"Take a seat and I will begin. Do you know why you are having trouble?"

"I think it's because of what happened to me in April."

"Let's start there."

She explained the attack and the aftermath. Guru didn't interrupt. He just let her talk.

"If I may, I think you judge yourself too harshly. You have all this repressed guilt. I can feel it without even looking at your chakras and it is not all about the attack, although that is when you started to feel overwhelmed. You have to accept that you are not a perfect person. You will make mistakes and sometimes people will get hurt. You must also accept that sometimes, people get hurt even if you made no mistake. Do you think you could have done anything differently to prevent what happened to Yakone?"

"I could have gotten a carriage or waited for Aang to walk me home."

"Of course, but would that have changed his behavior? He would have looked for another woman and who knows, maybe an officer would have caught him and he would have died in the struggle. Maybe he would have killed an innocent woman. You could go back and do it over, but you have no evidence you could have made it better. You have to forgive yourself for what happened to Yakone. It wasn't your fault. You didn't put him in that alley. You didn't teach him that he could have his way with unwilling women. You didn't tell him to leave his pregnant wife at home.

Katara nodded. She had heard this before, but she was finally starting to accept it.

"You still have guilt. What else has been going on in your life?"

She explained her issues with Aang. "He wants me back and I keep telling him no, but he won't give up, even thought here are plenty of girls who actually like him and I want to move on and find someone to make me happy, but I can't imagine anyone putting up with my ex who won't stop following me."

"You feel guilty because he loves you, but you don't love him."

"Yes."

"You aren't responsible for his feelings. He is just as you have to learn to handle your own. It will hurt when he finally realizes you won't take him back, but he should have started to realize this a year ago. It's not your fault that he chooses to hold on to a broken dream. He's never been good at letting things go. He has to let you go and that has to come from him. All you can do is give yourself some healthy separation. You have to free yourself to let love in."

She nodded.

"Your bending won't magically come back, but as you let these lessons sink in, you will find your chi flowing freely. Ease yourself back into it. Within a couple of weeks, you should feel stronger again."

"Thank you."

They hiked back to the ship.

"How are you feeling?" Azula asked her.

"Exhausted, but I think I needed this. Thank you."

"I just got a ship."

"But you did get the ship and you picked me up. It's not like you're my ferry service."

"I can be, within reason. I do have to work, sometimes."

They slept most of the way back to the tribe.

* * *

When Katara came back home, she was pleasantly surprised to see Sokka there.

"You're here."

"And so are you, but I thought you were coming in a while ago." Sokka had just gotten there today.

"I was, but then Azula and Ty Lee took me to see Guru Pathik. We just got back."

"The onion banana juice guy."

"It helped."

"Well whatever works right." Sokka tried to warn her. "You should probably know that …"

"Katara, you're back." Aang appeared.

Oh spirits why! "Yes, I just got in."

He hugged her to her chagrin. He was too close to her body. She didn't need such contact with him anymore.

"I was surprised that you left without me. I could have gotten here faster than Azula could have. She had to get a sky ship and fly and …"

"She said she wanted to see the tribe, so I said she should come visit and we decided to go."

What a fucking lie, Azula thought. She needs to confront Aang for his refusal to get over her.

"Oh, well did you want to come to the Southern Air Temple with me before we go back? I thought you could see the girls again. They asked about me."

"They did not," Katara snapped. "They never wanted to get to know me when we were together. They were sizing up their competition."

"But they asked where you were living and what you were doing and …."

"And if we were together."

"Yeah…. Oh!"

"And we're not together, so you should go back, alone, and see if you like any of them."

He pouted. Aang still thought they could be friends, so Katara agreed to go on the condition that Azula and Ty Lee come too.

"What?" Azula questioned.

"I think she's using you as an Aang shield."

"Oh crap!"

After staying for dinner, they went to the Southern Air Temple the next day.

The acolytes were surprised to see him with two new women.

"Are they joining us?" Hei Won frowned.

"No and I'm gay, so I'm not any competition." Azula pointed to Ty Lee. "She also only dates men with thick hair."

"Azula!"

"It's true. You told me."

"But he shaves his head. It's not the same as premature balding."

"How do you know it's not premature if he always shaves it?"

"Either way, he's all yours," Ty Lee said to the women.

Aang took Azula and Ty Lee on a tour of the temple.

Katara tried to "bond" with the girls. It felt like punishment.

"So what brings you here?"

"Aang thought we should all try to be friends."

"Why?"

"Because in his naïve peanut head we can all be friends," she said it under her breath but Hei-Won heard her anyway.

"He's nice!" Hei-Won defended him.

"He's very nice to the point where he struggles with earthly things, like reality."

The two girls started arguing.

Hei Won called her a bitch, and Katara said she was just a wanna be hussy who can't even get his attention.

"I don't know what he sees in you. You would be a terrible choice to bring back the airbenders."

"At least I know how to have sex, and I wouldn't have to rely on some monk's scroll!"

Hei Won slapped her. Big mistake.

Katara bended the stream behind her and pulled the girl into it, drenching her in the water and making her scream! All of the other girls ran away.

Katara couldn't believe it. "My bending's back!" She was ecstatic.

Hei Won was not. She tracked down Aang. "Look at what she did to me!"

Aang was confused. "What did who do you?"

"That bitchy waterbender tried to drown me."

Azula slapped her. "If she did, then you deserved it for being a no good ho!"

When Hei-Won saw the flame in Azula's hand, she ran away.

"Why did you do that?" Aang questioned.

"Someone had to put that girl in her place. She may be in heat, but she can't blame Katara because you won't give her the time of day."

Aang insisted that they all apologize to each other. Katara rolled her eyes. "I'll apologize when the Earth freezes over."

"Ditto!" Hei Won said.

Azula said, "I'd slap her again!"

"She slapped me first."

"She said I would need a scroll to figure out how to have sex."

"You would need more than that. It takes more than smiling and begging to be any good!"

Needless to say, their visit was a short one. "I need to get back to work," Azula said.

"Me too," Katara said. "Let's go in your sky ship."

"But I could just fly you," Aang said.

"I think you should stay here and tutor Hei Won on pacifism until she gets it." They got on the ship and left.

* * *

"That was pretty amazing," Azula laughed as Aang stood there confused.

"I got sick of pretending to be flattered that Aang is hung up on me. If he wanted to be a good friend, then he'd let me go." The realization was what she needed to get her chi flowing again.

"That's right," Ty Lee said. "He needs to move on."

"It's been over a year. Any obligation I had to hold back is now gone."

"Do you like someone?" Azula asked.

"I think I do."

"Does he know?"

"I have no idea."

**October 103AG**

When they all got back to Republic City, Katara started practicing her waterbending daily.

After a few weeks, she decided to teach an intermediate class.

Azula and Ty Lee were still working on Republic City bureaucracy. The three girls were out to lunch when a process server came up to Katara. "Are you Katara from the Southern Water Tribe?"

"Yes."

He handed her some legal papers.

"What is this?" She started to skim. "I'M BEING SUED!" The process server had already left.

Ty Lee took the papers. "Yakone's wife has the nerve to sue her?"

"We'll get you a lawyer," Azula said. "The best money can buy. This case won't make it to trial."

Yakone's wife had hired an expert witness who would testify that Katara bloodbended Yakone in a negligent fashion, causing his brain damage.

* * *

Right away, Azula knew the lawyer they would need.

He showed up to Katara's apartment. "You hired him? The jerk that defended Long Feng."

He laughed. "Most of my clients think I'm a jerk. It's because I do my job quite thoroughly."

"He got Long Feng a life sentence with the possibility of parole when it was almost a certainty he would be executed. He doesn't play around."

"I will need to go over your account of the attack. I read the police report, but I need to hear it from you. I need to find witnesses that might have seen you that night or him lurking around. I will need to meet whomever taught you how to bloodbend and I will need to examine your personal life. The plaintiff insists that you were having some kind of affair with Yakone, so I will need to rebut that claim."

This was it. It was really happening.

She told her story for the umpteenth time.

"And how many times did you tell this story and to whom?"

"The police, the hospital nurse, my brother when he came to see me in the hospital, my grandmother, Guru Pathik and I think that's it."

"I will need any locations of any of the people you have mentioned."

"I was with Sokka and Aang at the bar. Sokka lives in town and Aang is currently at the Southern Air Temple, but he will be back in a couple of weeks. Hama taught me how to bloodbend against my will and she's in jail in the Fire Nation. What else did you want to know?"

"Your personal life, are you involved with anyone?"

"No."

"When was your last relationship and with whom?"

"It was with Aang and it ended last August."

"When did it begin?"

"August of 100AG."

"Was it sexual?"

"Is this necessary?"

"Unfortunately it is. Trust me, I don't go around asking 17-year-old girls this for fun. I only date if she's at least half my age + 7 years."

"That's my rule too," Ty Lee said."

Azula rolled her eyes.

"It was towards the end. The sex wasn't very good. It's part of why I ended it."

"And were there any other sexual partners?"

"No."

"How about kissing partners?"

"I kissed a boy named Jet. Your client murdered him."

"Oh yeah. You should sign this waiver, so I don't get disbarred for representing you and Long Feng."

Katara sighed when she signed it.

"I need you to tell me about all of your previous bloodbending experiences."

She explained how Hama made her learn, what happened when she tried to find the man who killed her mother and the only other time was with Yakone.

"So you never had this problem before?"

"No. I don't know why his brain did that."

The lawyer said he'd try to find an expert witness who could help, but hopefully he could get this case dismissed before trial.

The lawyer had three weeks to file his answer. "I won't be able to meet everyone before then, but I can meet as many as possible."

He started with the police, the hospital and then with Sokka. He had to make sure Katara's story to them was consistent with what she had told him.

Azula offered to stay overnight.

"You're not weirded out."

"About what?"

"About hearing all my dirty laundry."

"I killed the Avatar. I can't really judge you for anything."

Katara nodded. Azula stayed the night.

"Do you think people will be turned off dating me after this trial?"

"None of the people who matter will be. Do you think people will date a crazy princess?"

"You aren't crazy."

"And you aren't broken."

They held each other as they fell asleep.

**November 103 AG**

Katara's lawyer did do a good job, a very good one. He had managed to find all of the people in the city who could offer information and got it before his filing deadline. He interviewed the police, hospital, Sokka, the bartender, nearby storeowners, and Yakone's associates. He sent a junior lawyer to interview Hama in jail. Hopefully, she would cooperate.

He filed an answer on Katara's behalf arguing that it was self defense and that there is no duty exercise care when defending oneself, even if there was she was not negligent when defending herself, contributory negligence, the plaintiff's had failed to state a proper claim, lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and he filed a counterclaim against Yakone for assault, battery, and for her medical expenses and loss of work since he caused her to suffer PTSD.

Attached with the answer was a motion to dismiss the claim, motions to strike several statements out of the plaintiff's suit as abusive, irrelevant, immaterial and incompetent.

They were discussing the answer when Aang came back.

"Who's he?" Aang questioned.

"He's my lawyer. I'm being sued."

"WHAT?"

"Yakone's wife is suing me."

"Why didn't you write to me? I would have come home."

"Well since you're here, I need to interview you." The lawyer asked all kinds of questions from that night to their relationship and his living status.

"Do you live here?"

"No."

"Where do you live?"

He got the address. "Do you sleep here?"

"I've slept on the couch a couple of times, but that's it."

"Define a couple."

It had actually been once or twice a week for months, but always on the couch.

"And have you had sexual relations with her since your break up?"

"No."

"And with any other women?"

"No! How is this relevant?"

"Everything's relevant, unless I argue that it isn't."

To get more insight on Katara's PTSD, he had to talk to her first therapist, who didn't have much to add and then Dr. Sing, who wasn't exactly near by. He got a waiver from Katara and then got the records from their meeting. He even went to Paradox to get her purchase history. They saw a lawyer and freaked, only to hear that his client was a customer who was being sued.

They calmed down and gave him the records. He also gave them a card incase they ever got sued. You always have to network.

When Azula came to pay for his services, she asked him how the case was going.

"I think we're getting good headway. It's all about how you open the case. We won't be in front of a judge before December."

"Ah."

"I didn't interview you, did I?"

"No."

"What is your relationship with Katara?"

"Where do I start?"

"At the beginning."

Azula started at their first meeting in Omashu. By the time she got to the present, the lawyer was baffled.

"So you tried to kill her repeatedly, you did kill her boyfriend, and you almost killed your brother in front of her, and you two are friends?"

"Good friends."

"And she called me a jerk."

"Only because you defend even bigger jerks."

He rolled his eyes.

Azula was able to shed more light on Katara's night terrors. She could also attest that her bending had suffered, which would limit her ability to work as a waterbending instructor, and she had only regained her skill recently.

After the lawyer's visit, Azula went to visit Katara. She was arguing with Aang.

"I still don't get why you didn't tell me."

"Because I don't need you to take care of me like I'm a child."

"It's not childish to ask for help, but it is childish to refuse it and suffer to try and prove a point."

"And what point are you trying to prove? I needed a lawyer. I got one. That's it."

"But he's creepy."

"So. He's good at his job. What lawyer isn't a little creepy?"

Azula knocked.

"Come in," Katara said, knowing Aang wanted to keep arguing.

"I saw your lawyer today. The first court date will probably be next month."

"What do I need to do?"

"Probably nothing. It's a motion, so the lawyers argue back and forth while the judge decides. They don't hear any testimony."

"Oh."

"What's the motion for?"

"To dismiss the case. It's a standard motion."

"Do you think it will work?"

"It depends. Even if it does work, they'll refile if they can with an amended answer. It really serves to buy time to get more information on the case."

"Like what information?"

"Like everything about Yakone that could sink him right now." They were still trying to find past victims.

Katara wanted to lie down.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Yes," Aang said, while Katara said, "no."

"We were talking."

"No, we were arguing and I've had enough of that for today."

Aang left and Azula offered her a chi massage. "I'm not as good as Ty Lee, but I can heat my hands."

"There is that."

Katara took off her shirt and Azula straddled her, massaging the areas around her chakras.

"Don't stop!"

"I won't."

The waterbender had a lot of tension.

"Maybe you should try yoga, to relax your muscles."

"Hmm!"

Aang didn't get it. Why did she want Azula around of all people? He went to see if Sokka was in.

"What's going on bro?"

"Did Katara tell you when she got the papers about the lawsuit?"

Sokka shook his head. "Her lawyer interviewed me first. Why?"

"Instead of writing to me and letting me know so I could help, she didn't say anything. I found out when her lawyer came to her apartment."

"Maybe she didn't want you to panic and what were you going to do? She had to hire a lawyer anyway."

"I still feel like she should have told me."

"Maybe if you two were still together. She wasn't alone or hopeless. You gotta let her do this her way."

"Yeah I guess." No, I don't!

When the junior lawyer got to Hama's village, he wasn't sure what to expect. He got to her cell and she asked him whom he was.

"I'm a lawyer."

"Are you my lawyer?"

"Um no. I work for a man who's representing a crime victim."

"Why do you need me?"

"I need to understand bloodbending. The victim used it to get a rapist off of her and somehow he had a brain aneurysm."

"A what?"

"He collapsed and now he has the brain function of a two year old. Now the guy's wife is saying it was her fault for bloodbending him, but we can't seem to figure out how it caused the guy's brain to just give out." He showed her the medical records that they had subpoenaed from the hospital.

Hama started to read. "This is very interesting. When I first learned to bloodbend in the tribe, they taught us to never bloodbend a bloodbender."

"Why is that?"

"Because when you are trying to bloodbend each other, you can goof and accidentally bloodbend yourself." When two bloodbenders go at it, they are having a battle of chi. If you try to overcome the other guy's chi but you fail, you might find end up being forced to bloodbend yourself."

"You think this guy was bloodbending her, or at least trying too, and somehow got his own brain."

"It's happened before, except instead of getting a brain aneurysm, the guy burst his own eyeball out and bled to death."

Now this was interesting. It was time to research if Yakone could bloodbend and if there were any documented cases of dual bloodbending accidents.

* * *

It was the middle of the night. Katara had an unusually bad night terror. Azula woke her up.

"Tara, wake up. It was just a dream."

Katara was sobbing as she woke up. "In my dream … he killed (you)."

"He can't get you again." Azula cupped her face. "Katara, look at me. You're safe."

She put her hands over Azula's. Suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed her hard on the mouth.


	5. Chapter 5

Azula didn't see it coming; a salty/sweet mouth collided with hers, sending her back on the bed. Azula kissed her back, wondering if this is what Katara needed to forget about her dream. Katara pulled on the oversized t-shirt, keeping Azula as close as possible as their bodies mashed together. Unlike Aang's more masculine form, Azula's soft, feminine curves felt amazing. Katara could stay pressed up against her hot skin forever.

Hurried, sloppy kisses followed one after another, but the girls kept going, both of them needing to surrender to their pent up lust.

"Hold me!" Katara cried into Azula's shoulder when she finally broke the chain of kisses.

Azula wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her close.

"Don't let go!"

"I won't."

Azula held her as Katara fell asleep. When they woke up, Azula was on top of Katara. The waterbender had her arms around Azula's back and her legs wrapped around her.

They looked into each other's eyes. Then Azula saw the time. "We're both late for work."

They got dressed and took breakfast to go as they headed out the door.

Azula needed to talk to her, but she knew it would have to wait.

Instead, she spent her day hearing various people whine about how the Fire Nation had delivered certain supplies.

"They got there didn't they?"

So the shipper left them on the dock when no one was there to sign for them. It's not his fault the worker took a cigarette break.

"They could have been stolen."

"But they weren't. If you want to complain, complain to the shipper. Zuko instructed them to get a signature on delivery. He can't be there when they deliver the goods."

She heard whining all day and was ready to just crack open a bottle of wine and figure things out with Katara.

She went straight to the girl's apartment, and when she knocked on the door, there was an annoyed response.

"She's always coming over here!"

"So. It's my apartment. I can have the Dai Li move in here if I want to!"

Katara let her in.

"Is this a bad time?'

"No!"

"Yes!"

"He wants me to get another lawyer."

"What's wrong with the one you have?"

"Other than he's morally bankrupt?"

"Those are the best lawyers. Anyway, he's making headway on your defense. He found an expert witness, and Hama actually cooperated with his assistant."

"Hama?"

"He needed someone who had more experience with bloodbending."

"Oh!"

Azula asked Katara if they would be able to talk.

Katara agreed. "Let's go to your place."

"But I …" Aang started

"We can talk about it another day."

He left as Katara and Azula went back to her apartment.

"I'm sorry to just run out on you this morning."

"I was late too."

"But I didn't want to just leave it open-ended like that."

"I know, me neither."

"I like you, Katara, a lot, but I don't want to push you into something you're not ready for. If you want me to wait, I will."

"Is that what you think, that I'm not ready?"

"You sound mad?"

"Yes I'm mad! I didn't just kiss you because I had a bad dream. I kissed you because I was sick of holding back the urge to kiss you every time you come over."

"What?"

"You asked me in the Southern Air Temple if I liked a guy."

"I remember."

"I said yes, but it was a misleading answer. I liked you. I still like you, and I don't want to have to wait because people think I'm broken."

Azula pulled her into an embrace. "You're not broken, but you are stressed. You have a trial coming up, an ex-boyfriend who can't seem to get a clue, I'm pretty sure I'm the only girl you ever considered dating, and we both have PTSD. I wouldn't have blamed you if you were hesitant about starting us right now."

She had a point. "This is the only thing I'm sure about."

They reached Azula's apartment door.

"Let's go inside."

Ty Lee had been glad to see them finally together.

"I knew it."

"Since when?" Katara asked.

"Since June."

They didn't have sex. They didn't even make out again. They had dinner and snuggled until it was time to go to sleep.

"I like this."

"Me too," Azula said as she pecked her goodnight.

* * *

Aang calmed down and realized he was being too pushy. He needed to let Katara pick her own lawyer and he decided to go back to apologize. It was two hours later, plenty of time for her to have talked to Azula, when he got to her apartment and found it empty.

Wondering where she had gone, he tried to nearby restaurants, but they weren't there. Then he tried walking to Azula's apartment. He heard Katara inside when he used his airbending to listen through the key lock.

He waited for Katara to leave, but she spent the night.

Once it was 2AM, he gave up and went home. Since when did she stay here?

December 103AG

Katara's lawyer had his first showdown with Yakone's wife's lawyer.

They argued that the motion was frivolous.

Katara's counsel disagreed.

"Our court is a young one, however, if you look at both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom law, the laws that predate this nation's founding, both of them require a writ when it comes to civil claims, and the writ they have used doesn't qualify.

They called this a battery, but it is not. Battery involves wanton or illegal contact and self-defense is not wanton or illegal. Even in their own statement of facts, Yakone and Katara were in contact willingly, which would also mean there was no battery. They cannot sustain a tort action without a proper writ, so the case must be dismissed. They have failed to state a claim and without that claim, they have no subject matter jurisdiction for this court to hear a case."

"The writ system is unnecessary. We see no reason for the court to continue the backwards system of the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom."

"Other than it has been our foundation of tort law for 500 years. How will we adjudicate cases if we get rid of the writs and don't have a new system to replace it? That sounds like a job for the legislature."

The judge dismissed the case two days later, finding that battery was the improper writ for the case.

Yakone's wife swears it was the shock of the ruling that sent her into labor. She was 2 days past due, but it was the travesty of justice that got her body to start forcing her child out of her. The delivery was a complicated one. 16 hours after she got to the hospital, she had a son. She named him Yakone II, and she would make sure he became every bit the man his father would have wanted him to be. A dark smile covered her face as she held him up. He looked just like papa. She would make him just like papa.

As expected, the lawyer re-filed three weeks later, arguing it was trespass and not a battery. Trespass doesn't even need to be knowingly done. It just has to be voluntary and she voluntarily bloodbended him, therefore trespassing on his brain. The lawyer had to cede that this was a proper writ, but he wanted it to be a trespass because his amended answer was that Yakone had bloodbended himself, causing his own aneurysm and therefore there was no trespass. No trespass, no case.

New Years Eve.

Zuko didn't have time for another party. Some important new bills were coming into effect January 1st, and he needed to be prepared. Aang had promised the Air Acolytes that he would show them how the Air Nation celebrated the new year. He had invited Katara, but she said she had plans to go to an office party.

Instead, she and Azula went on a date. They had a picnic on the rooftop of a new high-rise building. It wasn't exactly open to the public, but they made up an excuse to get in the building and then used the fire escape to get to the roof.

"We should have plenty of quiet up here, and we can see the fireworks," Azula said as they sat down.

"It sounds perfect."

She laid out their blanket. They had bulgogi sandwiches and moon peach wine.

"If I hadn't thought you'd slap me for it, I would have kissed you on New Years last year," Azula admitted to Katara.

"I probably would have kissed you back and then slapped you when I regained my senses."

"Do I make you go senseless?"

"Yes you do."

They didn't wait until midnight to start kissing.

In the Southern Air Temple, they would think of the New Year as a chance for a spiritual renewal. They would meditate by the sacred spring before having a special meal. The song and dances were seen as a thank you to the Earth that sustained their lifestyle.

Aang meditated with the girls at the sacred spring and then they had the Buddha's delight. He played the pan flute while they danced.

Each girl tried to use her charm to get closer to him. He smiled warmly, but he had not been fully aware of their interest. No matter how many times Katara said, "they like you, start there," he wouldn't let her go, which meant he wouldn't be able to start anew.

For a man with many lessons to teach, he didn't seem to learn them very well.

January 104AG

Azula and Katara had been together for about two months. Katara regularly stayed at Azula's apartment. She had two bedrooms, affording them the necessary privacy and it meant that Aang couldn't come as he willed.

"I should get my key back from him." She kept asking for it, but he never had it on him when she did.

"Or have the landlord change the locks," Azula suggested before they kissed.

"Or that." They kissed tenderly.

Soon, the mood changed. Katara straddled Azula, running her fingertips up the woman's sides. Her cold hands caused Azula to quiver before she kissed Katara more firmly, pulling the woman into her body. Katara reached under Azula's shirt, feeling soft, warm orbs and kneading them tenderly.

"OH!" Azula broke the kiss to moan as Katara began sucking on her neck.

They stayed above the waist, but this was the first indication that Katara gave that she was ready for something more sexual. Azula was pleased with the development, and she held Katara happily as they slept.

The next day, the two lovers had a date planned. The snowfall had stopped, leaving a thin coat of it on the ground. Katara had on boots and a winter coat, not that this weather compared to the tribes. Katara bought flowers and chocolate, wanting to treat her Princess and was on her way to Azula's when she saw Aang. She would have kept going but he walked right up to her.

"Hey Katara."

"Hey, how have you been?"

"Good. I haven't seen you around lately."

"I've been busy." She stammered.

"Too busy to go home?"

"Yeah, I'm seeing someone."

"Like dating."

Well duh! "Yeah, and I was kind of on my way."

"Is that a hickey on your neck?"

"Um, probably." Katara ran away before she could be asked any more questions, leaving footprints in the snow as she disappeared into the horizon.

Aang wondered where she was going. "Isn't Azula's apartment that way?"

That can't be right. Katara wouldn't date Azula. She doesn't like girls, and she said Azula was only helping her sleep. Katara wouldn't lie to him, would she?

Katara couldn't believe he just started questioning her on the street. It's not his business if she has a hickey!

She got to Azula's door and was out of breath. She hadn't even knocked for a second time before Azula answered the door.

Katara sheepishly presented her with flowers and chocolate.

"How sweet!" Azula lead her in, putting the flowers in a vase with water and bringing the chocolates to her bedroom.

"Is that to lure me in there?" Katara teased.

"Maybe," Azula kissed her face.

"What should we do tonight?"

"I was thinking a nice dinner and dancing."

"Sounds romantic," the two girls shared a kiss before Azula led them to the restaurant.

They took a carriage because it was on the other side of the city.

It was called The Abbey.

"I've never seen this place before."

"It's named after well, The Abbey."

"Why?"

"I think the décor and the menu was inspired by a famous restaurant that used to be there."

"Oh."

A waitress came and took their orders.

They decided to share the oyster prawn appetizer and they got a Peking turtle duck for dinner.

While they enjoyed their food and wine, Aang tried to figure out whom Katara was dating and where they had gone.

He knew she had left in the opposite direction of her apartment, so he went to her apartment to see if he could find any receipts or letters: something to give him a clue.

He didn't see any flowers or chocolate or other romantic indicators.

"Must not be a very good boyfriend."

He tried her drawers, but they revealed nothing other than her cannabis use.

Her papers were just waterbending lesson plans and documents from her lawyer.

He skimmed them out of curiosity, but he only saw information he already knew.

She's dating someone. Where did she meet him? It could have been at work or someone at a café or something. Katara doesn't really go to cafes. It must have been work. Maybe he could find a roster of their teachers or something.

The food was delicious and the wine was very palatable. Azula pressed her mouth to Katara's sugary lips, and silently, they decided to skip the dancing and go back to Azula's apartment.

It was a full moon tonight. Katara could feel this burning sensation inside her body that just wouldn't go away. Having a girlfriend who radiated heat did not help. She started to drive her hips against Azula's leg, trying to get some kind of friction when the firebender flipped her over. All she asked was, "do you want to?"

"Yes," she gasped.

"Then I shall please you." Azula had a haughty smirk as she pressed her body into Katara's, using her fingertips to trace along her lover's skin. Katara moaned excitedly as Azula started undoing the ties on the back of Katara's pretty blue dress. She pulled the fabric down slowly, staring into her eyes as she left Katara in the lacy black underwear she had purchased the week before.

"I like," Azula licked her lips as she marked Katara's breast and stomach with her teeth. As she sucked on the hot, salty skin, Katara shivered with anticipation.

The Princess could feel the heat radiating from the Chieftain's daughter's sex. She pushed her thigh between Katara's legs and began to rub against it, eliciting the sexiest sounds as she undid Katara's top. She started to knead her modestly sized breasts and was delighted to feel the girl's nipples hard as stone in her hand. Azula sucked a cold nipple into her hot mouth and teased it with her tongue. She pinched the other one and tugged hard. A sharp pain sucked the air out of Katara's lungs and when Azula switched sides, the pain dulled and a wave of pleasure washed over her.

Azula grinned as she kissed her way down Katara's stomach, taking off her soaked panties with her teeth. The waterbender opened her legs for Azula to take her on the couch. Suddenly, Azula picked her up and hoisted her over her shoulder, carrying her to bed like a caveman takes his prize. They would have more space there.

Once they got into bed, Azula wriggled her hand into Katara's wetness and began to thrust with her fingers. Her strong body rocked into the waterbender, making her gasp and groan as she clung onto the firebender who took over her senses. She had never known such a lust or been so close to having it satiated. Azula sucked on her shoulder as she claimed Katara for herself.

"OH SPIRITS!"

Not even they could bring Katara relief. Only Azula could. She started a fire so hot, only she could put it out. She was like a god amongst men. Katara regretted not taking off Azula's clothes earlier. She would love to see her naked right now. She struggled with taking off Azula's button down top. Eventually, she just made an ice razor and cut the offending buttons off. She could sew them back on later.

Katara's cold hands pushed Azula's top off her shoulders and down her body. Her perfect breasts were so close. Katara was just about to reach for them when she felt it, a pleasure so intense it became hard to breathe or see. She fell back onto the bed and began writhing and gasping for air. Azula just kept coming harder and faster as she drove into the hapless waterbender.

She let out a scream as she came over and over again. When she couldn't move anymore, Azula removed her fingers and licked them. "You taste good."

She knew she had been missing out with Aang, but she had no idea what sex could be before now. Azula kissed her lips softly, sharing with the woman her own taste, which was rather obscene, but still really hot.

Once Katara regained her breath and her vision, she removed the rest of Azula's clothes.

"New rule. You always get naked before we have sex."

"What if it's a quickie at a party?"

"New rule. You're always naked once we're alone in here."

Azula grinned. "I could get used to that."

Katara attacked the firebender's flawless body, groping at her substantial chest, pulling and pinching at pink nipples while Azula panted beneath her. She kissed her way down Azula's defined stomach, finding battle scars along the way. "Where are these from?"

"My fight with Iroh when I conquered Ba Sing Se."

Katara thought they were sexy. Usually, when she saw battle scars she cringed. It took forever for her to get used to the mark Azula had left on Aang, but these scars showed Azula's toughness, her rugged sexiness.

The Princess's spicy aroma was intoxicating. Katara pushed her head between Azula's legs and began to lick her wetness.

Azula felt like breathing fire as Katara explored her cinnamon tasting flesh. The firebender's hands involuntarily grabbed Katara's head, guiding her. It wasn't surprising that the Princess knew exactly what she liked. When Katara reached her fingers inside, she was stunned by how hot and wet Azula was. She was like a volcano. When she curled her fingers like Azula had done to her, the firebender shrilled. "OH FUCK!"

It was the first time that Katara had ever heard her curse. "Did that hurt?"

"Don't you dare stop!"

Katara continued to rub the spot over and over. Later, she would learn that she had found Azula's g-spot. Suddenly, a large nub began to appear. Katara began to lick it. The direct contact did make Azula breathe out a small flame. She quickly toned it down as to not burn down the bed.

Katara loved that she could make the normally calm and reserved Princess so undone. She continued with her mouth and fingers. Azula started gushing and Katara licked her clean.

The firebender was a trembling mess, covered in sweat and scratch marks. She looked so sexy.

They fell asleep, a naked sweaty ball of tangled limbs.

* * *

The next morning, Ty Lee wanted to know if Azula wanted to join her for morning yoga. If she had seen Katara's dress on the living room floor, she had already forgotten. When she did open the door, she saw a naked Katara sleeping on top of Azula. They finally got it on. Ty Lee closed the door and tiptoed away.

Katara woke up feeling the warmth of Azula beneath her. It was quite satisfying and normally she would be embarrassed about being totally nude, but she felt right at home in her lover's arms. It was a Saturday, so she wouldn't have to go to work. Instead, she could enjoy her morning by staying in bed.

Azula began stirring beneath her girlfriend. "Good morning," she mumbled as she tried to open her eyes. It was too difficult.

"How about I make you breakfast while you stay in bed?"

"Yay!"

Katara got up a few minutes later and made sausage and scrambled eggs. Azula had flat bread that she was able to wrap the meat and eggs up with and Azula's had hot sauce as the firebender often put it in her food. She put the plates of food on a tray and carried into Azula's bedroom. The princess had stripped the sheets. They needed to be washed anyway.

They ate. It was nice being spoiled. Azula hadn't had too much of that since she had moved to Republic City. She and Ty Lee alternated chores. She was more of a roommate than an employee.

Katara felt great. She was happy and she felt strong, which had unfortunately become a rare feeling for her.

Ty Lee had a great time at her yoga class. She was in an advanced class and sometimes Azula tagged along, but clearly, her friend was not leaving anytime soon. Katara would be good for her. Azula was a settling down kind of girl, and Katara was too. She just didn't want to settle down with Aang. The two women would take care of each other and challenge each other. Even in the apartment, they would alternate between bickering over politics and making out nonstop.

Ty Lee wondered if she'd find someone to settle down with. She couldn't see herself with Azula long term. Sure, the sex was fantastic. They had that spark, but she didn't think she was the right tinder for Azula's fire. They needed a slow burn to last and Azula burned too hot. She could see it now. Fiery make out sessions and fights that sent Ty Lee running back to the warriors. Azula would come back for her, only for Ty Lee to do it again. She didn't know how to slow Azula down. Katara on the other hand, seemed to provide the perfect balance.

The acrobat was almost home when Aang had approached her. "Hi Ty Lee!"

"Hi Aang. How are you doing?"

"I um was wondering if you had seen Katara recently."

Well this morning but … "Not since yesterday," Ty Lee lied. "She said something about a date." Maybe he'll get the hint.

"I know she's dating someone, but I still want to be friends. I think she's avoiding me."

No shit! "You know how new couples are, they want to spend a lot of time together. I'm sure she's not purposefully avoiding you. She's probably just really happy."

"Are they a couple already?"

"I think so Aang."

"It's just weird because no one has met the guy. I haven't, Sokka hasn't."

"Sokka hasn't? How do you know?"

"I asked him and he didn't even know Katara was dating someone."

And I'm sure she doesn't appreciate you telling her brother her business. "I'm sure she's fine. Katara has a good sense of character. I gotta go. I'm all sweaty and I was going to take a shower."

"Oh, take care Ty Lee."

Well he's overeager. Ty Lee could see it in his aura. She got to the apartment and was thankful that Azula had sprung extra for a two-bathroom place. Ty Lee thought they could have shared, but if they had, she'd have to wait for Azula and Katara to stop their coupling and come out.

Instead, the warrior stripped off her sticky clothing, revealing her firm body and soft curves before stepping into the shower. She covered herself in water before washing her body and her hair. Normally, she'd have Azula dry it for her, but the girl was pre-occupied.

Ty Lee decided to use the new "dryer" they put in bathrooms here. It seemed suspicious, but it seemed to work, blasting warm air at her head until her hair started to dry. Ty Lee combed it straight and then towel dried herself before putting on fresh clothes.

When she came back to the living room, she saw Azula and Katara in sweats. The waterbender was washing the sheets and whatever clothing they had worn the night before. The firebender was ready to dry them and get out the wrinkles.

"You two make quite a pair."

Katara blushed.

Azula kissed her.

"Have you thought about when you're going to tell your family?"

Both girls looked at her.

Azula spoke first. "Zuko did tell me to befriend you, so I did as I was instructed."

Katara smacked her butt.

"Rawr!"

"Um, I guess I'll tell my family when I go to the tribe again. I was going to visit this spring, assuming the trial doesn't get in my way."

"What about your brother?"

Katara shrugged. "He's been so busy with work, I haven't talked to him much."

"Well, he knows your dating someone."

"How?"

Ty Lee took a breath and explained Aang's attempts to figure out who you're with and how serious it is.

"That bald little bonehead!" Azula was rather annoyed with his antics.

"He told my brother? Who is he to get in my business like that?"

"He's a doofus who still thinks that you are his."

"I don't think I was ever his." Azula's claim on her was far superior.

"I just don't want him to accost me in the street again, talk about awkward."

"You find it awkward? I was on my way here last night and he stopped me in the street to ask me about the hickey forming on my neck." Katara was seething.

"I should probably start putting those lower when we get closer to trial," Azula admitted.

"I can heal them, so it's no bother. I shouldn't have to justify myself to him anymore. It's been a year and a half at this point. Why can't he just move on?"

Katara could feel her anxiety coming back. The two girls went for a smoke on the terrace.

Before Aang could find out who Katara's mystery boyfriend was, he got called away to Ba Sing Se.

He and Appa took to the skies, leaving Republic City and the girl who got away behind.


	6. Chapter 6

Late January 104AG

The parties were largely uninvolved in their cases at this point, but their lawyers were hard at work.

They were just beginning to start discovery, which meant they were filing interrogatories (requests for information), discovery requests (requests for evidence), and depositions (interviews of key witnesses).

Yakone's wife's lawyer wanted access to all of Katara's medical records, a list of any and all lovers past and present, a series of questions answered about any pre-existing relationship she had with Yakone, and to depose Sokka, Aang, Fire Lord Zuko, Princess Azula and of course Katara herself, as well as the hospital staff who treated her, the staff who treated Yakone and the police officers who responded to the scene.

Meanwhile, Katara's lawyer sought Yakone's criminal history, information of any allegations of assault or sexual violence, any medical records of his wife that suggested violence or domestic abuse, to depose Yakone's wife, Yakone's former business partner, the bartender at the bar, the doctor who claimed Katara had been negligent and he had already interviewed the other relevant parties.

The allotted time for this was three months and afterwards, they had mandatory settlement conferences before what would be a June trial date. If the case settled, then there would of course, be no trial.

* * *

Katara had a meeting with her lawyer to discuss her case. Azula went with her and they were holding hands as they stepped into the office. Right away, her lawyer was curious. "Do I detect a change in relationship status?"

The waterbender blushed. "Yes."

Right away he asked when, where, how, and how serious was their relationship.

"Is all of this necessary?" Katara questioned.

"No, but you have to admit this is like the juiciest story of the year. Azula kills the Avatar. You bring him back to life. She strikes down her brother. You rescue him in what is a David v. Goliath battle. She gets sent away. You have what everyone thinks will be the happily ever after with the Avatar only for her to return to the Crown, for you leave Aang feeling jilted and to run off with the woman who killed him. I can see the headlines now."

Katara folded her arms angrily. Azula only laughed.

"Seriously, every noble is going to want to know about you two."

"Well it's none of their business!"

"Very well. I however have to mention that opposing counsel may see this as bias. Azula is a witness for our case. They will argue that you seduced her to get her to lie on your behalf or perhaps you two cooked up the counterclaim while in bed sharing a cigarette."

"I'm wicked, but I'm not that wicked, but if I were …"

"AZULA!"

"What? Just postulating."

"I think you would have made a fine lawyer."

"Thanks."

"So here's the short of it; they want all your medical records, your entire relationship history, to question you in a deposition and a bunch of other stuff that I won't need you for."

This was so invasive.

"Do we need to turn that all over?" Azula questioned.

"I don't think so. Her mental health records after the attack are germane. The rest of it is not. Your relationship history is irrelevant, except in so far as it could show bias. I will accompany you to the deposition and if I say don't answer, then don't answer."

Katara showed him her teaching schedule and he said he'd find a time for her deposition that didn't interfere with her classes.

* * *

After the long afternoon of legal strategy, which was mostly Katara's lawyer talking to Azula while Katara was confused about the whole thing, the Princess suggested they go home, share a hot bath and snuggle. "We can make hot cocoa after."

"Now that sounds delicious."

They walked hand in hand out of the office.

Katara remembered she needed to water her houseplants. She had gotten them after she had returned from the tribe, and if she wasn't more vigilant, they would die. They were on her way to her apartment when Katara saw her brother.

"Sokka?"

"Long time no see," he said as he hugged his sister. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. We just got out from the lawyer's office."

He had almost forgotten about the trial. "How's your case looking?"

"It's too early to say. The lawyer's optimistic, but we haven't exchanged evidence yet. We were actually on our way to my apartment to water my plants."

"We?" He just noticed Azula standing there. She blended into the snow with her fluffy white coat. "You look like a snow bunny," he said to Azula.

"This is what happens when Ty Lee picks out your coat."

Somehow, Sokka wasn't surprised. He went with them back to her apartment where the siblings caught up on what had happened since they saw each other last.

Katara put down her legal papers in her bedroom. Her lawyer would give her a summary of each meeting, so she knew what she (rather Azula) was paying for. His price was steep, but Azula said it was worth it and they could sue for attorney's fees once they won.

Sokka mentioned that Suki would be coming to visit next month. Zuko and Mai are coming, so she's going to lead their security detail.

"You didn't tell me your brother was coming," Katara said to Azula.

She shrugged. "He didn't tell me."

Before Sokka could ask about her boyfriend, there was a knock on the door.

It was Aang, and he was bearing flowers, roses, which were nice, but Katara preferred water lilies.

"What are you doing?" Katara feared he would ask her out again.

"I need to talk to you."

"This isn't a good time." _Take a hint!_

"But it's important!" _Don't you see?_

"I haven't seen Sokka in ages." She wanted Aang to leave.

"Can't he wait five minutes?" He'll understand; he's my bro!

"Wait for what?"

Aang asked for Sokka and Azula to give them a minute. Azula was reluctant to leave. She was surprised when Sokka pulled her into Katara's bedroom, too surprised to flambé him.

"What are you doing?"

"It will only take a minute."

"But she doesn't want to talk to him!"

He handed her the flowers. Katara set them on the table.

"I know it's been a long time since we've been together, and I know you started dating someone else, but we have something special. You were my first kiss, my first love, my first everything and I know in my heart we were meant to be together."

"Aang!" Don't you dare!

He got on his knee. "Katara, will you marry me?" he presented her a handmade betrothal necklace that he made in Ba Sing Se.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" she screamed.

"What?" she sounded mad.

"What is wrong with you? I dumped you over a year ago. It's going on two years now. I don't love you, not the way you want me to and honestly, it's hard to love you at all given your ridiculous antics. I do not want to marry you. I do not want to carry your airbenders. I refuse to live anywhere with you, and for the last time, we are NEVER! EVER! EVER getting back together."

"Is it because of your new boyfriend?" Was he too late?

"ARE YOU DEAF OR DUMB! It has nothing to do with my new girlfriend. I don't want you. I didn't want you before she came into the picture, and I most certainly don't want you now!"

"Girlfriend?" She doesn't mean …

"Azula is my girlfriend! She …"

Aang got mad. "You lied to me!"

"About what?"

"You said that you two were just friends. That she only spent the night because you had trouble sleeping."

Sokka was hyperventilating. His sister was dating Azula. He was trapped in a bedroom with his sister's lover?

"I wasn't lying. She was just there as a friend. A FRIEND! Someone who is there for me when I was in need. Not someone who tries to control my every move like he's my parent."

"I did everything for YOU! I moved here for you. Appa hates it here but I stayed because you needed me. You wouldn't eat. You wouldn't sleep. You threw temper tantrums all day and crying fits at night. Can't you see how much I love you?"

"No! All I can see is how much you tried to fix me like I was some broken doll that could be held together with adhesive. What I needed was someone who could show me the way so I could put myself together again and that's exactly what Azula did.

She didn't bring therapists into my house or drag me kicking and screaming to appointments. She listened. She gave advice, but left it up to me as to whether or not I wanted to take it. She never forgot that I'm a grown woman who has a right to make my own choices even if they're not the wisest.

I know you were trying to help, and I'm sure I wasn't the easiest person to deal with, but you need to put your energy into someone who can love you back. I've seen half a dozen girls who were smitten with you at one point, but you couldn't see it because you were too busy chasing me. Stop chasing me. Let me go and allow yourself to be loved." She handed him back the flowers and the necklace and sent him on his way.

* * *

Aang walked home the long way. He didn't even bother to button his jacket. The cold on the outside was nothing like the ice building in his chest. He got home and incinerated the flowers. How could this be? He saved the world. He died for her. She would have had everything if she had just said yes, but she turned him away for a pot-smoking princess. He didn't even know if two girls could have sex. I mean they could do some stuff, but Azula was definitely at a disadvantage when it came to providing pleasure. How could she not be?

He doubted that he would propose to another water tribe woman, but maybe someone else could use the necklace. He put it in a box. That afternoon, a letter came. It was a request from Yakone's wife's lawyer seeking to schedule a deposition.

Of course, he'd have to testify at Katara's trial. He would have to keep seeing them together, knowing Azula was the one who would share Katara's bed at night, who would go on dates with her. They would probably have a perfect two hearts day together while he was left alone. Azula couldn't even have kids with Katara. What did she see in her? Was it the drugs? It has to be it. Marijuana must make you crazy.

Aang went to the library and started looking for books on the subject matter. "Although marijuana is not physically addictive, it is psychologically compulsive and in high doses can induce paranoia, memory loss, agitation, confusion, and exacerbation of pre-existing or latent mental disorders."

He checked out several books and stayed up half the night reading them. He fell asleep on his desk, his head between the pages.

Now Azula, Katara and Sokka were in Katara's living room. No one was ready to speak. That scene was all together too shocking.

Katara finally did it. She finally told Aang to give up forever and that she was Azula's but this hardly felt like a cause for celebration. For a year and a half, Aang held onto a small light in the dark. He was sure Katara would be his again, but he was oblivious to the problems in their relationship. He just had them thrown in his face within earshot of his ex-girlfriend's new lover and his ex-girlfriend's brother. He must be mortified. Azula couldn't imagine if Ty Lee had dumped Azula in front of a new mate.

Sokka was too confused to say anything. Should he admit that Aang asked him for advice and Sokka told him that if he really loved her, he had to tell her how he felt? He didn't say to propose and he did warn Aang that it might already be too late, but he somehow gave this the go ahead. He didn't mean to trap Katara in the apartment like this. It was by chance that he saw her when he did. He also didn't think that Azula was with Katara or he wouldn't have taken her out of the room. Having her present for this made it all the more horrifying.

They sat there, staring at each other, unable to speak a word.

Katara's hand clumsily reached for Azula's.

Finally Sokka spoke, "So you two are together?"

Azula nodded lazily. Speaking was just too hard right now. She could really go for a fat one.

She got up, without saying where she was going and went into Katara's room. There were papers and enough cannabis for a good joint in her drawer. She rolled one and held a finger to it, lighting it before taking a puff. Her brain was working too hard right now. She needed to slow it down.

Katara took it from her and inhaled. After a couple of puffs she said, "Why is it that I always want to get high after dealing with Aang?"

Azula said, "I have to be high to be in the same room with Iroh. I'd pull out my hair otherwise."

Sokka didn't know what it felt like to get high. Azula put the joint in his mouth without asking. He exhaled. "This tastes funny."

"It's not for the taste, although I like it," Azula said as she smoked some and then handed it to Katara. They went back and forth until it was gone. Katara kissed Azula's face. "So much for our bubble bath and hot cocoa."

"That sounds too normal," Sokka said.

"Gay people can be normal," Azula retorted.

"I meant you."

"Oh right."

"When did you (start seeing my sister)?"

"November," Katara said. "Mid November."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Ty Lee," Azula said.

"My lawyer."

"You told your lawyer before me?"

"He's a busybody."

"Like I'm not!"

"You should have been a lawyer. I'm sure you'd get paid a lot more than working for the council."

"Money's not everything."

"It is nice."

"Why do you work for your brother?"

"What else would I do all day?"

"Don't you get paid for being a princess even if you do nothing?"

"I guess, but I'd be too bored staying at home. It would be my job to play hostess to Zuko's dinner parties. I never liked that kind of stuff. Mai can do that."

"Does she do that?" Katara questioned.

"If not now, she will as Fire Lady." Azula shrugged.

"I didn't think queens had to serve people," Sokka said.

"Everyone serves the king eventually," Azula retorted. "Kings are greedy and seek the support of everyone in their kingdom, it is in their nature, but their greed has its limits. Once you take too much, you lose your sustainability. Eventually, you have nothing, and then a new king takes over. The only other alternative is religion, which has moral principles that the king lacks, but it's too dogmatic. It won't yield to anything. From a religious perspective, better to follow your principles to your extinction than it is to turn back when there's danger."

"Has that ever happened?" Katara questioned.

"The airbenders," Azula said coldly. "Sozin didn't just kill them all without warning, well he didn't warn them directly, but he had been making moves to conquer the world for years. Putting footholds in the Earth Kingdom, sending surveillance ships to spy on the tribes. The signs of war were starting to form 30 years before the genocide, but the Air Nation didn't try to act until they tried to send Aang away at the last minute.

It was already too late. Their ideals were good, but they falsely believed they could escape the greed of the king by building their homes high in the sky. They didn't adapt their beliefs to survive the cruel world that was beneath them, and the King struck them like lava erupting from a believed dormant volcano, which is ironically how Roku died.

You don't serve the king because he is the best of men. Often times he is not even close. You serve him because when you pit greed against idealism, you can sit out and watch 9 times out of ten, but it's the tenth time, where idealism is ready to burn down the whole world just to win. You have to stand up for the king."

Katara didn't agree. "But Ozai didn't turn around. His greed was unlimited."

"He stopped being a king," Azula said quickly. "He became a subscriber to his own religion, ready to turn the world into ash as long as it was his ash. He believed himself to be a god and immune to the fears of mortals like death and it didn't matter how many died as long as he won. A true king knows the cost of doing business and knows when he has run dry.

Those who head a religion, however, make it a positive thing to die for the cause. It shows that the people put their principles above earthly attachments. They rose above the mere sins of man and became a martyr for something bigger and Ozai thought he was the biggest thing there was. He encouraged people to die for him, like the men before him had.

My nation waged war on the world for 100 years because war became a religion. Conquering became morally right and dying in war was a badge of honor. I never feared death, not when I squared off against the Avatar, not when I was held without my bending. It didn't matter if I died, as long as I didn't die a coward. I couldn't turn back, even if it was going to be to my downfall. It seemed better to die in that agni kai against you than admit defeat.

I had to let go of my beliefs, about my country and the world, in order to move forward and have a life worth living. It wasn't easy and it wasn't fun, but when given the choice to serve my brother or stay trapped in my own mind, holding onto a religion that was all but dead, it was the only choice worth taking."

Both Katara and Sokka were disturbed by Azula's position on the war but for different reasons. Katara had looked at Azula as she is now, like her past had been someone else. She hadn't realized that Azula is stuck carrying the pain of her past like an albatross around her neck. She wondered how she could have missed it. How did she keep it buried so deep?

Sokak was horrified by the idea that the airbenders who were murdered were just like the fire nation soldiers who killed them, following their faith to their own destruction without the forethought to realize that there have to be limits to all ideals or else they will extinguish you like a fire. It seemed easy to just blame the war on Sozin. Take him out and it never happened. Was there a more fundamental problem that hasn't been addressed?

Could the world find itself in a new war when a new ideology takes over? Sokka assumed the post-war era was safe, but what if Azula was right? What if all it took was religion to bring everything to chaos again? There were good religions and bad. Not even Azula would argue that the airbenders were amoral. To her, they were just defenseless because their pacifism and their naivety blinded them to the evil that was lurking about. Was evil like that always lurking? Would you have to be paranoid? Could the airbender's way of life truly return? Was it too dangerous?

Sokka wished he could numb his brain. Too many ideas were in it right now. "Do you have anymore weed?"

"We'll have to go across town for that."

The trio left.

Ty Lee was home when they arrived. "Sokka!" she hugged him. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I've been pretty busy, but I ran into Katara on the street and it seemed like the time to catch up."

Azula started making the cocoa. Katara filled her pipe. Both were shared amongst the group.

Sokka fell asleep on the couch. Azula drew a sketch of him.

Ty Lee and Katara were talking in the acrobat's room.

"What was Azula like growing up?"

Ty Lee thought before answering. "She was very studious. She was always reading or training. She wanted her father to be proud of her."

"And how was she with other people?"

"She and Zuko were rivals from an early age. Ozai and Azulon favored Azula because of her talent. Ursa and Iroh favored Zuko because according to them, he was kinder and worked harder. I think they both got it wrong. Zuko was talented too, but he got frustrated easily. He struggled with controlling his temper, and he's better, but he still does a little bit. Azula was talented, but she was successful because she knew Ozai and Azulon didn't accept failure. They would only like her if she were a winner, so she couldn't lose. Her coldness was a survival mechanism. She couldn't afford to show how hard it all was.

Most girls play with dolls and have sleepovers and think about getting married. For Azula, all of those things were distractions. She knew what was expected of her, and she knew the price you paid for failing in her family. I think it's no secret that Mai and I were selected to be her friends for political reasons. Every girl our age wanted an invitation to the palace, but none of them knew Azula. They knew she was a princess. That's all that mattered. Sometimes you have to pick between the role you were born into and who you are. Azula didn't know the difference during the war. It was like she had become the icon that her people identify her as. Her sense of self was gone."

Katara had no idea what that was like. She had never had a "role" like that before. Even being the chieftain's daughter, she was just a girl. She cooked and cleaned like the other girls. She had no special treatment or expectation. Joining Aang was a rebellion for her, a chance to learn to fight when only the men could, a chance to show that she could be more than just one of a set. It never really occurred to her before that the people she fought had to fight. That they didn't choose who they would get to be. They just were.

"What's on your mind?" Ty Lee asked her.

"Have you ever heard the term, serve the king?"

Ty Lee nodded. "You're trying to pick apart Azula's mind."

"It's really hard!"

"Oh I know. Azula overthinks everything. She has to justify every choice she makes because they had been questioned her whole life. It's easier to make her decisions into an archetypal lesson instead of just saying, Ozai's a jerk and I don't have to listen to him anymore. I find it easier to understand what she does rather than what she says.

She would never say that she likes her brother, but she's the only one who can find him when he's upset and wonders off. Even Mai can't figure that out and they've been together over three years now. She knows when he's thinking about their mother or when he's convinced that he doesn't have what it takes to be the Fire Lord. She's there for the people she cares about it, and it's easier to see that than it is to understand most anything she says."

"Sometimes, I wonder how a woman with her power chose me of all people, the peasant girl who beat her in a battle."

"That wasn't the Princess," Ty Lee said. "That was Azula. I think you're the first time she ever blatantly ignored her father's teachings."

"Even after she joined Zuko's court?"

"That could have just been a political move, a chance to lie in wait for a coup or something. You are everything she was raised not to pursue, another woman from another nation, one determined to establish peace and harmony in the world. If there was any doubt she'd turn back to the dark side, it's gone. I can't think of a bigger rebellion than that."

Eventually, Sokka woke up. They had dinner. He finally learned what is bibimbap and he was quite a fan.

February 104AG

Zuko had just arrived to participate in negotiations to amend the treaty forming United Republic. Since Azula didn't have the authority to amend the treaty, she was only tasked with making sure the Fire Nation fulfilled its obligations under the current one, he and Mai came to Republic City.

He was just on his way into the office, when a man in somewhat formal looking robes tried to approach him. Suki quickly intervened. "What do you want?"

"I am here to give Zuko a request for a deposition."

"A what?"

"My boss wants to question him as a witness for a lawsuit. We heard he would be here today."

"He can't be questioned now. He has a meeting."

"I know, but can he come in before he leaves?"

"Hand over the papers and we'll be in touch," Mai said.

"Yes Ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am." She was 18 for Agni's sake.

He forked them over and sprinted away like a gazelle being chased by a tiger bear.

"I wonder how they knew you'd be here?" Suki questioned.

"There might have been a public notice about the negotiations," Zuko answered.

There was, but they actually found out from Aang. They had deposed him first, who doesn't want to hear from the ex-boyfriend.

He told them what was expected like Katara was going home. The police came to the bar. He said some guy tried to rape her, but he didn't know if she had been raped. They rushed to the hospital. She had been sedated. They couldn't talk to her until morning and she told them their story.

"Azula and Zuko went to get her breakfast," he told the lawyer.

"What happened when they came back?"

"I left to go cheer up other patients and families. I don't know what they said to her."

"And what can you tell us about the relationship between Azula and Zuko and …"

"Oh they're siblings."

"I meant their relationships to Katara."

"Oh, Azula's Katara's girlfriend now."

"What?"

"I found out when I asked Katara to marry me and she said she didn't want to be with me anymore and she was with Azula now. I thought we would be able to get back together since I was there for her from the beginning, but she said I smothered her too much, and she needed someone who treated her like an adult. I think she just lets Katara party too much."

"Does she party a lot?"

"She hasn't told me about any parties, but she has a cannabis prescription. It's for anxiety, but I think it's making her paranoid and giving her memory loss. Why else would she think I'm overbearing and trying to control her life? She doesn't really remember how things happened."

They heard all about Aang's theory on Katara and Azula's relationship. It was just what they had wanted to hear.

"Do you know anything about her relationship with Zuko?"

"They're friends."

"Did they ever date?"

"No. You can ask him yourself. He'll be here next week."

"You've been very helpful Aang."

At least someone appreciated him!


	7. Chapter 7

Apparently, there were concerns that United Republic would cost more than originally thought and would not be completed according to the timetable they had set. Since the council wanted to make substantial changes from the treaty that created the country, they would need to amend the treaty in order to go forward with their new plans.

The beginning was mostly a status update on what they had already done. It was pretty straightforward and Azula's progress reports outlined most of this anyway. At the heart of the matter, however, were the derogations that the council wanted to make: changing the tax structure, building more high rises, investing in even more technology. This was a massive undertaking and some were weary as to if it was even possible. Would this just be a waste of money at the end?

The first day was a long one. It felt like information overload. Zuko was ready to go lie down when Aang found him after the meeting.

"Can we talk?" he asked Zuko.

"I was on my way back to the inn."

Mai and Suki were with them.

"It involves all of you, or it can. I think Katara needs an intervention!"

For obvious reasons, they continued this conversation in the privacy of Zuko's inn suite.

"Why would Katara need an intervention?" Suki questioned.

"She's been using marijuana for months and she's showing obvious symptoms of abuse."

"WHAT?" Zuko questioned.

"Azula gave her some during their trip to Ember Island. Katara insisted it helped with her anxiety, but I thought she should see a doctor. She did see one, well she saw Azula's doctor who gave her a prescription and she's been using it ever since."

"Let me guess, she gets it auto refilled and hasn't gone back to see the doctor."

"Exactly." Actually, Aang was wrong. She went back two more times at her lawyer's behest, so he could record her progress for their counterclaim.

Zuko sighed. "I knew medical marijuana was a bad idea."

"I wouldn't go that far," Mai said. "Your sister was completely crazy and she hasn't tried to kill you in almost four years now. I think it has some legitimate use."

Suki said, "She has a point. That doesn't mean, however, that Katara doesn't have a problem."

Aang described her paranoia, how she would lash out at him and her decision to start a relationship with Azula.

"She what?" They all yelled.

"They've been dating since November, and of course Katara wants to be with her; she's her enabler."

It seemed quite unbelievable that Katara would pursue a relationship with Azula without being under the influence of something. They hadn't, however, been able to observe Katara's recovery or how supportive Azula had been. They just took Aang's word that Azula was keeping Katara high and finagled her way into the waterbender's pants.

"Have you tried talking to her about this?"

"She won't listen to me at all," Aang said, which was true, but that's because he was part of the reason she smoked in the first place.

"She needs to be evaluated by a new doctor," Zuko decided, like he could decide that for her.

"We can't just make her go in," Mai pointed out.

"And when we brought a doctor to her, she flipped out," Suki recalled.

Aang brought them some book about staging interventions. "If we all go together, then maybe she'll see that she needs help, help that Azula nor a green plant can provide her."

Suki and Zuko agreed right away. Mai wanted to consult Ty Lee before committing to anything.

* * *

The next day, she found Ty Lee doing early morning yoga on the rooftop of the apartment building she lived in.

"Hey Mai," Ty Lee said looking at her upside down.

"Do you have a minute?"

"For you, of course." Ty Lee continued to stretch.

"How long have you known about Azula and Katara?"

"Oh since June."

"June?"

"I mean they weren't together then, but I could see Katara's aura turning pink when Azula was around. It was only a matter of time before they got together."

"And do you think Katara's recovered enough for a relationship?"

Ty Lee nodded. "They're so good together. When we got Katara in June, she was skin and bones. You could tell she didn't sleep. She was too frightened to really function, but we got her eating. Azula helped her with her sleeping, and we were able to help her get her bending back."

"She lost it?"

"She was so anxious, her bending was pretty much gone. I gave her some chi massages and we took her to Guru Pathik so she could reopen her chakras. Once she could bend again, she could resume working."

This was night and day from the story Aang had told them.

"Do you think she maybe uses her prescription too much?"

"For cannabis? I don't think so. She hasn't shown any signs of dependency."

"No paranoia or short term memory loss."

"No. Why?"

"Just making sure things are alright."

* * *

When Mai went to tell Zuko what she had heard, Zuko wasn't surprised. "Ty Lee's a sweetheart, but she's a little batty. I wouldn't be surprised if she missed the warning signs."

"Or Aang made them up in his mind because he's a jealous ex who's been chasing Katara for well over a year just to get nowhere, and he can't accept that Katara want's Azula and not him."

Zuko frowned. "We're just going to talk to her. If it's all made up like Ty Lee thinks, we'll find out then."

When Suki asked Sokka about Katara's stability, he admitted, "I haven't really been around for her. She seemed well when I saw her and Azula, well until Aang proposed."

"He proposed?"

"Yeah and she was pretty upset. She couldn't believe he tried after they've been broken up for so long. It was pretty painful to listen to."

"You were there?"

"I was, and so was Azula. He didn't realize they were together when he asked. He must have felt really stupid."

Suki started to get a bad feeling in her stomach, was this just a bitter ex?

* * *

Aang and Zuko, however, seemed convinced that cannabis was the problem. To make sure Katara was in her apartment, they had a delivery slip sent to her, telling her that a delivery was coming between 7 and 10 on Thursday night, guaranteeing that she would have to stay in the apartment until they got there.

Katara wondered what it could be and assumed that Azula had ordered some kind of present for her.

"Why don't we go to my place on Thursday?"

"Okay, Baby."

The others met up to discuss the intervention, well absent Ty Lee who didn't know about it and absent Mai who was convinced that this was a waste of time.

Zuko, Aang, Sokka and Suki all met to go over the plan. "The book says we need to have clear examples of when her drug use has been a problem."

"I don't know of any," Sokka admitted. Neither Suki nor Zuko knew of any either.

Aang had a list of times when he thought that her cannabis use was responsible for her unruly behavior. Most of these times, however, she had been sober and just mad at him.

"It is important that we speak one at a time, so she doesn't feel overwhelmed."

He went through the rules and then they headed over to her apartment.

It was 7:30 and Katara and Azula were enjoying the night on Katara's couch.

"You're clothed," Katara complained.

"I thought the no clothes rule was for my apartment."

"Nope. Both of them."

"Then take them off."

Katara eagerly took off Azula's clothes, starting with her jacket and making her way down to her gorgeous body.

Azula picked her up and carried her to the kitchen table. "This table is the perfect height for me to fuck you while standing," Azula smirked as she began pulling off Katara's pants.

The waterbender arched her back for more contact as Azula took her time, lavishing the woman with kisses and poker-hot touches with her fingertips.

"I have a surprise," Azula said when she went to her purse. Inside, was a glass phallus, one with a smaller phallus coming out at an angle. It was designed so that one woman could have the smaller end inside herself while fucking her lover with the larger end.

Katara's eyes widened at the surprise. Azula buried her head between her lover's legs, getting her nice and wet before fucking her senseless.

The closer they got to the apartment, the more Sokka and Suki doubted whether this was a good idea. Sokka told her, "Sometimes, you have to serve the king, even when he's wrong."

Suki accepted that logic, for some reason and they continued. When Aang knocked on the door, there was no answer.

Maybe she wasn't home. Sokka was ready to leave when Aang produced a key from his pocket. _He still had a key to her place?_ Before he could object to the intrusion, Aang opened the door and his jaw dropped. Katara was clutching the table, holding on for dear life as Azula pounded the daylights out of her. Moans and grunts filled the room while they were well, rutting.

Sokka was traumatized beyond relief. He ran without any care if he had been spotted or not. Zuko ran after him. Aang ran third and Suki was the only one composed enough to tiptoe and close the door. Aang had left his key inside. Suki kept it. "He does not need this at all!"

She would have locked the door, but she thought that might have given them away. Now she had to track down her stupid boyfriend and his stupid friends. Serving the king even though he's wrong. Who the fuck came up with that?

She found them in the same bar where Sokka and Aang had drunken themselves into a stupor the night Katara was attacked.

* * *

Sokka ordered vodka and used it to purify his eyes. Zuko ordered a whisky neat and chugged the whole thing. Aang just beat his head on the table. Apparently, Azula had no trouble fucking Katara like a man. He and Katara never made it past missionary or out of the bedroom. Was that what she wanted? Someone who could dominate her in the bedroom or on the kitchen table.

"I can't believe I ate on that table!" Sokka whimpered as he ordered a shot to drink this time.

Zuko wished he had Mai's common sense and stayed out of it.

Aang wished he had thought to distract Azula during the intervention. "Next time, we need to make sure Azula is elsewhere else."

"NEXT TIME!" Sokka yelled at him. "There won't be any next time. I refuse to be apart of whatever tonight was."

"Me too!"

"Me three!" Suki said as she ordered a beer.

They would be drinking the pain away for some time.

Azula ravished Katara all over the apartment. She had her pinned against the wall, bent over the couch, and at one point pinned down as Azula hammered her on the floor. Katara had unleashed a dragon, and she was the prey.

"OH FUCK! OH FFFFFUUUUUUCCCCKKKKKK!"

The more Katara screamed, the stronger Azula's lust became. Her inner fire was blazing hot. She had never felt such an unquenchable hunger overtake her body. She kissed Katara hard, mauling her mouth as she conquered her body again and again.

One after another, they came and came until they collapsed in a rapturous bliss. Sweat soaked and fatigued, they had a wild night, and it was still young.

"That package never came," Katara lamented.

"What package?"

"The one you ordered."

"I didn't order anything."

Katara found the package slip.

Azula frowned. "This is Zuko's handwriting."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Why would he (do that)?"

"I don't know, but you know who would know?"

When Mai opened the door, she thought Zuko had forgotten his key.

She was surprised to see Azula and Katara, but when she held up the phony package slip, Mai sighed. "So you want to know what gives."

"That we do."

Mai said, "I need a drink first." She poured herself a whiskey and juice before she began. "Aang found us after the treaty negotiations and insisted that Katara needed an intervention."

"For what?" Azula questioned.

"He said she was dependent on her cannabis and when we got to the inn, he told us that you were her enabler. That you kept her high so you could seduce her."

"WHAT?" Katara was pissed.

"I know, I know, it sounded crazy, so I asked Ty Lee about you two and she said pretty much the total opposite. I suspected that Aang was a jealous ex, but Zuko believed him, mainly because he thinks you get high for fun, and it's not real medicine, anyway.

Zuko and Aang started planning an intervention. Suki got Sokka who told her about the failed proposal. Suki started to suspect that Aang was just bonkers and even though Sokka seemed to doubt him as well, they decided to show up and see what happens.

They made up the package slip so you would be in your own apartment, figuring Azula just wouldn't let them into hers, and I refused to go, because the more I thought about it, the more I thought Aang was the one acting crazy. He swore you were paranoid and had short-term memory loss, which are signs of cannabis abuse, but Sokka and Ty Lee didn't see any of that, which seemed odd to me. How could Katara have symptoms that only manifested with Aang? It made more sense that he was overreacting.

Anyway, if you didn't see them tonight, then maybe they got some sense and called it off." Mai finished her drink.

"An intervention?" Katara couldn't believe it. "Was this revenge because I said no?"

"He probably convinced himself it was the weed talking and once you're sober, you'll want him again."

"Out of all of the arrogant and condescending bullshit that I put up with in my life, he takes the cake! How dare he assume I am not capable of making my own choices and try to convince my friends and family that I have a drug problem to placate his bruised ego. The next time I see him, his balls will be bruised!"

Mai shook her head. "I don't know what to say. Maybe I should have tried harder to get Zuko to see how crazy this all was, but I've been telling Zuko to stop placating Aang's obsession with you since last December. He seemed to think that there was some hope, and he couldn't tell his friend to move on, even though it was clearly hopeless."

"And what were Sokka and Suki thinking?"

"Let me think," Azula tried, "Aang's my bro, Suki's my girlfriend, Zuko's her boss and let's just go with them even if it sounds totally stupid!"

Katara was mad. "I am so mad right now."

Mai had an idea. "I know what can make you feel better."

They went and defenestrated everything of Aang's that had been in Katara's apartment: his clothes, his shoes, and his spare glider. It was all in the street.

"That did feel pretty good," Katara admitted.

When the drunkards headed home, they passed Katara's building on the way to the inn.

"Isn't that a glider?" Sokka questioned, broken and in the street.

"It's my glider!" He looked further. "These are my clothes!"

Zuko gasped. "She threw it all out the window."

Furious, Aang stormed up to Katara's apartment, demanding an explanation. He pounded on the door. He would have used the key, but he couldn't find it.

"KATARA OPEN THIS DOOR!"

She did and once it was open, Aang came inside just to get a hose to the face and chest, blasting him back out of the apartment and into the opposing neighbor's door.

"What the FUCK?"

"IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Katara screamed at him. "How dare you make up stories about me having drug dependency because your ego and your wiener were too small to accept the fact that I dumped you? I do NOT have paranoia. I do NOT have short-term memory loss. Half of the time when I did get high it was because your unrelenting obsession with me was stressing me out!

How dare you lie to our friends and our family to convince them to intrude upon my privacy and stage an intervention? How dare you refuse to do the one thing I ask and let me go? Until you get over your issues, you need to stay out of my life. Don't write to me. Don't visit me. Don't talk to me when you see me passing by and stay away from my job and my girlfriend you psychopath!" She slammed the door in his face.

Neighbors had heard the commotion and opened their doors to see the Avatar soaking wet being berated by his ex-girlfriend. The rumor mills were going to go crazy with this story. In the hallway were the Fire Lord, his bodyguard and her boyfriend, a notable member of the city government. Why were they here? What was their role in the chaos?

* * *

Zuko, Suki and Sokka were too drunk to understand exactly what Katara had said. They could, however, tell she was really, really, mad!

Mai watched from the inside of the apartment. She was at a loss for words. Eventually, she left the apartment and took a carriage back to the inn, not saying a word to anyone.

Suki got a carriage and told it to take Aang home.

Sokka was staying in her inn room with her tonight, so they all went back to the inn.

When Zuko got to bed, he was surprised to see Mai was still up. "You were right."

"Oh I know, but tell me anyway about how wrong you were!"

As Zuko relayed the events in Katara's apartment, Mai tried so hard not to burst out laughing. Actually, she didn't try hard at all. She cackled as he described their sprint to the bar and subsequent drunkenness. "This is too good!"

"My head hurts!"

"Well it should, dum-dum!"

Zuko grumbled as he tried to fall asleep.

Sokka and Suki got into bed. "I'm never going to be apart of an intervention again!"

"I don't know if that was the lesson," Suki said, "But there is a lesson somewhere in here."

"Never listen to Aang again?"

"Maybe that's it."

They went to sleep.

* * *

Aang left his stuff. He could have heatbended himself dry, but he walked home in the winter while soaking wet. This was a terrible idea and woke up with an awful cold the next day.

He wondered why he was here. He moved for Katara. She obviously wanted him gone, so he'd go. She better not need him anytime soon because it would be a long time before he would want to see her again.

Sokka and Suki went over to apologize to Katara the next day for their role in the "intervention."

"We didn't realize how bonkers Aang had become."

Suki also gave Katara her key back. "I don't think Aang has any legitimate use for this."

Ty Lee wanted for everyone to get dim sum before Zuko and co. were leaving. They went on Saturday before Zuko's deposition.

"Isn't this fun?" She said as she poured some tea.

This had to be the most awkward gathering of people, ever.

Zuko refused to look into Azula's eyes or Katara's for that matter. He was still too traumatized.

Mai had no problem talking, even if everyone else stayed silent.

Sokka was half-expecting Aang to show up and act crazy.

Suki figured if she kept eating, then she didn't have to talk.

Finally, Zuko said something, "out of all the people in the world, why her?"

"Is that addressed to me or Azula?" Katara questioned.

"You."

"She was the only one who could deserve me," Katara told him. The answer didn't make any sense to him, but it did to her.

Katara was selfish, impatient and a little insecure. She made mistakes, could be out of control and at times hard to handle. Aang wanted to love her, but he couldn't handle her at her worst, then her sure as hell didn't deserve her at her best. Azula was the one who could bring light when Katara was surrounded by darkness. Her love gave Katara strength and it took a great courage for her to be able to open her heart after it had been battered and bruised so many times.

After eating too many dumplings, Zuko went with Mai and Suki to see this lawyer.

"Who are they?" The lawyer questioned.

"My girlfriend and my bodyguard, respectively."

"Whatever?" He asked Zuko what happened the morning after the attack.

"Aang said he had to cancel our meeting because Katara was in the hospital. We got there and she was just waking up. Her brother was already there."

"Was it just you four?"

"No, my sister came with me. The doctor came in and took out her IV. Katara asked how Yakone was doing and they said he had to go back into surgery. The room was crowded so Azula and I went for a walk where we found Yakone's wife, but we didn't know it was here. She was crying about her husband, and Azula tried to make her feel better.

When we left, Azula told me she thought that was the wife of the man who attacked Katara and we debated whether or not we should tell her that the guy was married and his wife was pregnant. We got breakfast. We brought something back for Katara, but I don't remember what exactly it was and Azula told her about the wife. Katara started freaking out, which I kind of expected that, but since she got sued, I guess she would have had to find out anyway.

We took turns visiting her. She was pretty shaken up. Azula and I had to go home, so Sokka was the only one who lived in the city with her.

"What about Aang?"

"He moved there when Sokka said she wasn't doing too well. He had been living in the Southern Air Temple."

"What if any correspondence did you have with Katara?"

"None really, well not that I remember."

"Do you remember anything about her?"

"Uh, Sokka said she had to take time off work because she was too stressed out. Azula wrote back suggesting she go on vacation with her and Ty Lee."

"Who?"

"Azula's best friend and current bodyguard. Katara went. I wasn't there, and I didn't see or hear anything until I came back here."

"And what happened when you got here?"

"Uh, Aang insisted Katara was addicted to her medication. He tried to stage an intervention, but apparently he was just bitter that she rejected his proposal. They fought. Katara had defenestrated his clothes because she was mad at him and I think that's it."

"So according to you, Aang made up her drug dependency issues?"

"He's the only one who ever saw them. Her doctor didn't. Her friends haven't. According to everyone, including Katara, she's fine. I don't know what he was talking about."

That didn't help with their theory that Katara was just paranoid and convinced herself Yakone was trying to rape her, but now they had Ty Lee, a name they had not heard before. They would try to depose her next.

**March 104AG**

Katara's lawyer deposed Yakone's wife. For some reason, she brought her baby, Yakone II.

"He has no father!"

"Um, I'm only going to write down answers to the questions."

He asked her where her husband said he was going that night. He said he was going to the market.

"Did he often go at night?"

"Sometimes, we'd run out of milk or something."

"And how long would he be gone?"

"An hour."

"And how far away is the market from your house?"

"10 minutes."

"Didn't you find it odd that it would take an hour to buy milk?"

[OBJECTION]

"There was a line!"

"At night, out the door? Did it ever occur to you he was lying?"

[Objection]

"He IS NOT A RAPIST!"

"I'll take that as a no. Has he ever been violent with you?"

"NO!"

"Has he ever been accused of violence as far as you know?"

"NO!"

"What about his arrest for being in a drunken brawl last year?"

"That was just trumped up nonsense!"

"But it was an accusation. Were there any others?"

"I don't know!"

"Have you ever been admitted to the hospital for injuries?"

"Yeah once."

"Why?"

"My arm was broken."

"Was Yakone involved?"

"I tripped into the door."

"On your arm?"

"She said she tripped," her lawyer interrupted.

"Have you ever had any women claim that Yakone fathered their babies?"

"One, but she was lying?"

"How do you know?"

"He told me."

"What was her name?"

"Jina!"

"Was Yakone a bloodbender?"

"Objection!"

"I don't know."

"Was he a waterbender?"

"Yes!"

"A masterbender!"

"Yes!"

"He would have heard of bloodbending?"

"Probably."

"Did he ever bloodbend you?" He did when he broke her arm.

"NO!"

She refused to answer any more questions.

Over the next month, he deposed various other people. He was able to find witnesses who saw Yakone bloodbend people into walls, sometimes breaking their bones. He could do this on any day of the month.

He was also trying to track down Jina. Maybe she could say something of interest.

* * *

Once Aang recovered from his cold, which might have been pneumonia, he moved back to the Southern Air Temple. The Acolytes were glad to see him return and even happier when he said he was done with Republic City and Katara. "We'll show you a good time," Hei-Won promised as she raked her nails along his chest.

The girls had a single Aang and they all considered him prey.

The girls had some wine that they had brought with them when they moved to the temple.

"Maybe you could enjoy it with us?" one of the girls asked with a carnal smile.

Aang grinned. If Katara didn't want him, there were plenty of girls who did.

That night, he was drunk. They all were, but he was drunk enough not to remember the next day.

The girls took turn kissing him. He could really get used to this. Avatar business could wait.

* * *

When Aang fell off the grid, those who knew of his blunder with Katara were not surprised. Those who didn't wondered where he had gone.

One of them was Toph. They had sent correspondence to him in Republic City, but he didn't forward the mail, so he never got it. Suspicious, Toph eventually went to his apartment to find it empty.

When Toph went to Katara's apartment, she didn't find anyone there either.

She tried Sokka at city hall and learned, Katara moved in with Azula and Aang moved away, presumably back to the Southern Air Temple.

"He didn't tell anyone. What happened?"

"He kept trying to get Katara back and when he couldn't, he convinced himself that she was addicted to her medication and tried to stage an intervention. It went badly. Katara flipped out on him and he ran off. He couldn't let her go and she couldn't take it anymore, so she said if you can't respect my choice not to be with you, we're not friends anymore, go away."

"Whoa!" Sugar Queen threw the hammer down!

"Yeah, it was pretty bad, but the situation was totally out of control. He had a key to her apartment. He'd just let himself in, and I don't think Katara realized he still had the key. She certainly didn't want him walking in while she and Azula were …"

"Whoa!"

"Yeah, I'd rather forget that ever happened."

"You were there?"

"I didn't realize he'd just open the door. I thought he'd wait for her to come out."

"Poor Snoozles! Well, I guess I have to go to the Air Temple."

Sokka took the day off to go with her, since she wouldn't be able to see off the ground. They got there on a sky ship and the place reeked of booze.

There were empty bottles of wine on the ground.

"Watch out," Sokka guided Toph away from the broken glass. He should have made her wear shoes.

"TWINKLE TOES!" She called his name over and over.

Aang stumbled out, half naked and hung over. He had been drinking heavily for weeks. A little booze would loosen him up a little, make it easier to flirt, but once he had too much, he would start rambling about Katara and how Azula ruined everything. "If I could have saved her from this, she would have chosen me." But Azula got in the way. All of his past good deeds counted for nothing in the end.

He would go on and on, as he would get drunker and drunker. He was a broken man who kept reopening his own wounds because he would rather bleed over Katara than move on with out her.

The acolytes stopped drinking with him, but he'd just get on Appa, buy booze and come back. He'd drink it all himself. He was fading away.

"You look like shit!" Sokka told him, clothes dirty, eyes sunken in.

"Thanks."

"Seriously, what happened to you?"

"We just had some fun." He belched.

The acolytes came to see their visitors.

"What brings you here?"

"I tried to reach Aang in Republic City, but I hadn't realized he moved."

"Well, when Katara tells you to go away, you go away." He fell to the ground.

"How much did he drink last night?"

The girls shrugged. "A bottle and a half?"

"No wonder he sounds like a hot mess."

When he woke up again, Toph tried to explain why they had been trying to reach him. There was growing discontent with the nobles in the Earth Kingdom about the taxes. Some were just hiding their money, but others were contemplating staging a coup. They wanted to get ahead of the problem before the palace got attacked, but they needed more help.

Aang only said, "when I try to help people, I get told that I'm overbearing and psychotic."

"So let me get this straight, Sugar Queen dumped you well over a year ago, instead of moving on you kept chasing her, you drove her to the point where she literally hosed you down and defenestrated your stuff because your desire for her was completely out of control, and now you've given up on your duty to the world and your life because you'd rather be a drunken, depressing lump on a log. I can't believe this. You're pathetic and not only was she right to dump you, but no one will ever love you if this is what you choose to become. I can't believe I ever had a crush on you. I'm embarrassed!"

Toph stormed off.

Sokka followed her. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think he needs an intervention."

Aang shrugged of Toph's words. What does she know anyway? She's never fallen in love. She's never given her life to someone just to be cruelly turned away. He refused to accept that he was overreacting, that he was giving up on a chance to be happy as a way of trying to punish Katara for spurning him. He refused to see that she had wanted him to be happy, that she had mentioned those other girls to encourage him to move forward. Instead of looking for life, he decided to sink into darkness.

That night, he just got drunk again.


	8. Chapter 8

Sokka missed his deposition because he went with Toph to the Earth Kingdom, trying to help her settle the mess amongst the nobles.

The plaintiff's lawyer insisted it was a stalling technique and demanded sanctions.

Katara's lawyer denied having seen Sokka in months and had no idea why he skipped his deposition. "Maybe he forgot?"

The judge refused to order sanctions since that was rarely done anyway. "Move on with your other depositions and reschedule his."

Azula went with her own lawyer.

The first few questions were expected: name, age, residence and vocation. She was, however, baffled when they began questioning her about the war.

They asked her if she had committed any war crimes, which her lawyer objected to so she didn't answer.

They asked her if she had ever killed anyone, again the lawyer told her not to answer.

She did not answer five additional questions before they got to this case.

They asked her what happened at the hospital. She described her meeting with the plaintiff. She acknowledged that she told Katara that the woman was pregnant. She denied talking to Yakone's wife to get info for the trial.

"When I saw first saw her, I didn't realize who she was. At first I found it odd that so many people were getting brain surgery, but then I realized that the hospital probably had only one brain surgeon and she must have been married to the man who attacked Katara the night before."

"You didn't ask her more questions."

"No, she kept talking to me about her baby and she didn't know what to do."

They proceeded to ask about Katara's mental health. Azula didn't know anything first hand before June and then she said, "Katara was underweight, clearly sleep deprived and to me, showed possible signs of PTSD. I recommended a psychiatrist that I had found helpful."

"Did you give her illegal drugs?"

"No."

"Did you not give her any cannabis?"

"It's not illegal in the Fire Nation." They restrict sales, but they don't have a criminal statute barring adults from possessing or smoking it.

"So it's legal to give your friend your prescribed cannabis."

"Yes."

"What if she takes it with her when she leaves?"

"It depends on where she takes it. Each country has its own import laws."

"Would you consider yourself her enabler?"

"Certainly not."

"But she got the drugs from you?"

"If you broke your arm and were given painkillers, but you didn't use them all and then your friend broke his foot, you would give him some painkillers before he got to the hospital. That's just common sense. I wasn't peddling drugs nor was I seeking to get her hooked. It was just an everyday occurrence, except it happened with a relatively new medicine."

Azula was very good at giving testimony. She was trained for this kind of stuff, picking a position and refusing to waiver. It was quite frustrating.

"Can you describe the nature of your relationship with Katara?"

"She's my girlfriend."

"Do you think that biases you in this case?"

"No. Most of my involvement in this case occurred before we got together and most of it can be corroborated with witnesses without such a personal interest."

Azula could tell Ty Lee would need her own lawyer for her deposition. Otherwise, they would make mince meat of her.

When the lawyer did depose Ty Lee, they were not prepared for her bubbly personality.

She started stretching in their office, because she had to cut her morning yoga short and she was just a mess if she didn't get her body going in the morning.

"Can you question me like this?" she asked with her feet behind her head.

"Um sure."

They asked the routine questions before asking her about her vacation in June.

"Well, Zula and I were going to the beach since we had been working hard all winter and spring and it seemed like a good time for chilling in the hot tub. Mai told us that Sokka had sent Zuko a letter asking for help since Katara was depressed, so we invited her to come to the beach with us. We got there first and then Aang brought her. He wanted to stay but it was a girls' only vacation. Sometimes girls get chattier once the boys go away."

"And did Katara get chattier?"

"She was quiet at first, but once she started to relax, she was able to enjoy herself."

"And how did she relax?"

"We'd soak in the hot tub, give each other massages and I think the cannabis was able to help stimulate her appetite. She hadn't been eating. It showed. "

"So she didn't take it for anxiety?"

"Oh she was anxious too! Her aura showed it."

"Her aura?"

"I'm an aura reader, and a chi blocker."

"A what?"

She chi blocked his arm. "See!"

"OW!"

"Oh it will wear off soon."

"Where did you learn that?"

"Training at the Royal Academy for Girls."

"Remind me to stay away from there."

"Okay, when should I remind you?"

The more she talked, the more baffling the lawyer found her until he cut the deposition short and sent her on her way.

"Um, sorry about your arm."

"Forget about it." Just go!

* * *

Katara got deposed last. She had been warned about the types of questions she would be asked and was as prepared as she could be. She might have eaten a pot cookie before going into the meeting.

She denied having any relationship with Yakone. She had never met him. She saw him running at her and tried to get away, but he slammed her in the wall and took her water skin.

She tried to reach some water, but the gutter was too far away. The only thing she could do was bloodbend him.

"And how did you learn to bloodbend?"

She explained that a bloodbender had attacked Sokka and Aang and in order to save them, she had to bloodbend them away from each other, forcing her to learn the dark art.

"And would you say you are an experienced bloodbender?"

"Not particularly." She had to admit to using it subsequently, but she hadn't since the war ended. She never wanted to use it again because it can hurt people.

"And how did Yakone's brain get damaged?"

"I have no idea. Hama never said anything about brain aneurysms and I just moved his arms so I could get free. I hadn't touched his brain."

"He just collapsed?"

"He was all, 'what did you do to me?' And then he collapse."

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing. I don't know. Maybe he just had a brain aneurysm."

"At that moment?"

"They can come at random times. Who would know?"

She denied being a loose woman or a drug abuser. She insisted that it was the cannabis that helped her dissipate her anxiety enough so that she could get spiritual help from Guru Pathik and start working again.

She also said Aang was a jealous ex who would come to her apartment uninvited, accost her for having friends over and somehow always said he forgot her key when she asked for it back. "Finally, someone took it from him and gave it to me."

"So he's a liar?"

"He's delusional and I heard he's a drunk now."

* * *

When they did locate Aang, they realized he was a drunk and could not possibly testify. They tried to get the judge to admit his deposition into evidence without him coming to testify.

Katara's lawyer strenuously objected. "We had no chance to be present t that deposition. We couldn't cross-examine him and that was taken after my client rejected his marriage proposal and he learned of her new girlfriend. He had every reason to lie or embellish his story and she has a fundamental right to confront the evidence used against her."

"His testimony is pivotal to our case. It would be unfair to say that our client is on the hook for her mental distress without being able to present evidence that she caused her own distress."

"Response, counselor," the judge inquired.

"The evidence may be important to them, but importance doesn't rid the court of its burden to prove the evidence is reliable. I could get a psychic who could have a vision about what happened and her testimony could be very beneficial to me, but without any proof that psychics have any veracity, it wouldn't be admissible.

They want to present the testimony of a jilted lover as gospel, and to make it even more unreliable; he supposedly diagnosed her without any medical training based on what he read in a library after she dumped him.

Anyone could go into a library, read a book about an illness, and find some of those symptoms in a person. It doesn't mean that the person has the illness or that the testimony should be allowed. We don't allow jurors to read these books and decide for themselves. Using this testimony would be the same thing."

"The deposition is out. If he can't appear, then you can't use him."

With Aang's damaging testimony gone, Katara's lawyer kept filing motions, trying to pick away at the plantiff's case. Many of them were overruled, but some of them, such as the motion to exclude any of Katara's romantic history that involved non-witnesses were granted. They couldn't bring up Jet or Aang.

May 104AG

They had their first settlement conference.

Yakone's wife wanted at least 10,000 coins to raise her son and another 20,000 coins for Yakone's medical care. Currently, she was using savings, but they would eventually run dry.

Katara's lawyer refused. He argued that even if she couldn't afford his medical care, she could make Yakone a ward of the state where he would be cared for anyway, and the responsibility to raise her son was hers. "Many single mothers have to work. Why should she get to stay home and not support her son even if this wasn't Yakone's fault?"

Katara's medical expenses were not that high. The medicine was cheap and there had only been four doctor's visits. The most expensive part was her loss of income from May until October. She had gotten sick pay for some of it, but three months was not reimbursed. Since Yakone had property interests, Katara's lawyer suggested she sell some of them to pay the claim and to raise her son, since she had no business savvy.

They had four conferences in all. None of them got them any closer to a deal since Katara wasn't willing to, nor could she afford to, pay Yakone's wife any money.

They were going to trial. At the earliest, Katara could see her family in July.

Jury selection was that month. It was a six-person jury, four women and two men ages ranging from 18-49. Two of the women were Earth Kingdom, one was water tribe, and the last woman and the two men were Fire Nation.

Yakone's wife's lawyer argued their should have been more water tribe representation, but there weren't a lot of water tribes people of age living in the colony relative to the other nation, and they had to exclude everyone who knew Katara or Yakone personally, which took out most of them.

"Even if it is a disadvantage, Katara is also from a tribe and has the same disadvantage," the judge pointed out.

Azula was surprised this was going to trial. "I thought you said 90% of the time, people settle," she said to the lawyer.

"They do. This woman is too ideological. I don't think she can comprehend reason."

Azula feared those people the worst. "Don't be afraid to pull out all the stops."

* * *

Aang had become like Jekyll and Hyde, during the day he would be sweet and charming, teaching the girls his ways and telling stories of his past, but at night, he would get into the booze. He was bitter and angry, reserving all of his frustrations for the nighttime and he would heatbend some of the booze away, just to drink more. He was going through at least a bottle of wine a day, sometimes two.

The acolytes knew he needed help, but who should they ask? They didn't know.

Finally, Xing Ying said, "Aren't monks not supposed to drink?"

"Yeah, but try telling him that!"

"Maybe we need to show him."

While he was busy, they poured out all of the booze. He bought a week's supply at a time, so they poured out 10 bottles.

"He'll just by more," Hei Won pointed out.

"But he won't be able to get any more for today." By the time he noticed, it would be too late.

He went looking for something to drink at eight, and couldn't find the wine he kept under his bed. He tried in his dresser, in the cupboard and all of his other hiding places, but they were all gone.

"Have you seen my wine?" he asked Hei Won.

Instead of saying it was a group effort, she told him, "Xing Ling poured it all out."

"WHAT?" He stormed over to Xing Ling. "You poured out my wine!"

"I had to. You're out of control. You drink and drink and you bitch and moan about your ex-girlfriend. During the day, you are so kind and thoughtful and at night, you turn into this booze fiend, ignoring all of your teachings and forgetting who you are. It's like we don't even know you."

He denied it but each girl, other than Hei Won produced an example.

"You said one day that you wished Azula would drop dead because she stole your 'forever girl.'" Envy!

"Another time you drank so much you threw up and kept drinking." Gluttony!

"You're losing your spirituality. You tried to meditate and you got so mad you screamed at Momo and scared him away." Sloth!

"This all comes from pride," Xing Ling finally said. "You think you're better than Azula and therefore, you deserve Katara. You have accomplished so much, but you also have so much more power than everyone else. You have to keep people's limitations in mind when you evaluate their merits."

"We learned all of this from your teachings," Yee-Li tried to explain. "You are a good teacher, but you have to learn the lessons too. The booze is ruining you. Two of your best friends won't talk to you. How much worse are you going to let it get?"

* * *

True to form Aang ran off. He needed to think. How could this be? The Avatar Fan Club just told him he lost touch with his faith. How is that even possible? He's the last monk left. Shouldn't he know what being a monk means?

He went swimming in the sacred spring, hoping for some kind of sign.

"Does it mean getting drunk every day, scaring your biggest admirers and lusting for the girl who got away?" Gyatso appeared in a vision.

Aang's heart started pounding out of his chest. "You're not real!" he screamed.

"Maybe not physically, but I'm in your mind, so in a way, I am real."

"Are you here to tell me you hate me?"

"I'm here to say I'm sorry."

"You're sorry, for what?"

"I failed you. We all failed you as children. We taught you virtues, but we didn't teach you that they are ideals; you can never truly reach them. You can strive for them and you can get closer and closer, but you will always be bound by the confines of man and the limits of the universe."

"I don't understand."

"We taught you that you should rise above lust, but we never explained how hard that would be or that some lust would be inevitable. The species would die without it.

We taught you not to be envious, but everyone is sometimes. What we should have taught you is, how to deal with it healthily. Instead of pretending envy doesn't exist, we should have taught you to channel it towards something else, to be introspective, think about why you are envious and focus on how you can make yourself a better man.

You struggle so much because you are dealing with emotions that you never thought you would face. You thought you were above them, that our people were above them. We didn't mean to but we caused you to think that the Air Nation was above the others. We subconsciously believed it ourselves. We built our temples high and out of reach. We thought we could escape war and the problems that affected the lower nations.

We did it peace but we sought peace the wrong way. Instead of isolating ourselves from the world, we should have been a part of it. We should have helped those who struggle in the other nations find a way to handle their more primitive emotions. It was this error that lead to our downfall just as much as Sozin's attack.

We didn't see it coming, but if we hadn't ignored the world, we would have seen the moves he made over the decades to attack. Who knows if we could have had a chance fighting, but maybe we could have convinced some of those men to turn around if we bothered to learn anything about them. The war was caused by the greed of men, but it was our inability to reconcile our ideology with the world we live in that doomed us too.

You have to find a new way for the airbenders. Of course you should restore and repopulate the temples, but you have to find a way to integrate their world with the other nations, and in order to truly create balance in the world, you have to find it in yourself. Do you know what's standing in your way?"

Aang nodded. "Katara, I have to truly let her go, not saying I do, but just drinking myself into a stupor because she's gone."

"Yes. I know I am asking for a lot, much of it, I didn't even try to do in my lifetime, but with great power comes great responsibility. I have faith in you Aang."

Aang got out of the water. He had a lot of amends to make.

June 104AG

It was the night before the trial. Katara was having trouble sleeping. She might have to testify tomorrow and even if she didn't, it would be so uncomfortable hearing them talk about it in a room full of people. The media would be all over this story, especially when they realized that she and Azula were together.

Azula had already arranged for a service to take them to and from the trial, so she wouldn't have to deal with public mobs. She didn't know what else she could do to prepare them. They would just have to see how this all went.

Azula woke up from Katara's stirring.

"Sorry to wake you up."

"Come here," Azula pulled Katara close and began whispering sweet nothings in her ear, using her warm body to comfort the waterbender. Eventually, Katara fell asleep in Azula's arms and she stayed there until Ty Lee got them up in the morning.

They put on their formal attire and headed for the courthouse. The lawyer was meeting them there. This was it.

There was a line of people going out the building, each of them trying to get a seat.

Zuko had all of the warriors come to help with security. He and Mai came to support Katara. He was also a witness.

What Katara didn't expect was for her father, grandmother and step-grandfather to be there.

"We know you couldn't come to us, so we came to you."

She hugged her family tightly. "Thank you so much."

"We'll always be here for you," Gran Gran promised.

Sokka was inside with Suki.

Yakone's wife had a ridiculous looking dress on. It was clearly very expensive, but the colors clashed. She was wearing blue and white but there was orange and purple in there. It looked a hot mess.

Yakone had no family outside his wife and son. He was not in the courtroom.

Toph came to the trial too. "Miss me Sugar Queen!"

"TOPH!"

The two girls hugged.

A man sat in the back. He wore a disguise.

They all rose when the judge came into the courtroom.

"You may all be seated."

They sat down again.

The plaintiff's lawyer opened the case. "Imagine my client pregnant and waiting for your husband to come home, so she can tell him the news. He never came home. She went to the police and then tried the hospital where she learned he was getting his second emergency brain surgery. Now, he has the capacity of a two year old. He will be like this for life.

She thought it was nature being cruel, a bad stroke of luck, but then she learned that he was violently bloodbended by another person. It wasn't fate but it was intentional harm. She expected the police to vindicate her husband, but instead, they let her go without charges. She was never arrested, never interrogated; they just took her word at the scene. Now, my client has to care for her husband and her child alone. She had been a stay at home wife. Now, she will have to be the worker and the home keeper.

That just isn't fair. If you believe in fairness, then you will award my client's claim."

The judge offered the defense a chance to give an opening statement.

"I would like to wait until we open our case."

"Granted."

The crowd sounded surprised. Who wouldn't want to address such harrowing accusations right away?

* * *

The plaintiff's lawyer went next "My first witness is," Yakone's wife.

She stated her name for the court, her age and started telling them about when she met her husband. He wooed her with elaborate gifts and well planned dates. She knew it was love and she was so happy to be able to build a life with him.

"He always wanted children. When I found out I was pregnant, I decided to tell him that night, but he said he had to go to the store. I figured it could wait an hour, but he never came home." She started to sob. It sounded phony. Toph snorted and then Sokka elbowed her. He was tasked with sitting with her in case she reacted too strongly.

"What happened?"

"I tried the neighbors and his friends. I went to the police and they suggested trying the hospital in case there was an accident. When I got there, I learned a man fitting my husband's description was getting emergency brain surgery. They said the first surgery seemed okay, but then there was internal bleeding, so they had to do it again and when he woke up, he babbled and started asking for his mother. She's been dead for ten years."

"Has he shown any progress?"

"He's barely toilet trained. He cries and screams like he's in his terrible twos, and it is so hard for me to go on. He was such a strong and caring man. Now he's helpless and it just breaks my heart."

"Have you ever met Katara?"

"Once."

"What happened?"

"I showed up to her job and told her she ruined my life. All she could say was I'm sorry. I'm sorry won't give my son a father."

"Thank you."

"Cross examine."

"I would like to cross-examine her after the second witness."

The plaintiff's lawyer was shocked.

"Any objection."

"Yes, but I'm not sure of a reason."

"Overruled."

The second witness was one of Yakone's business partners. He talked about how intelligent the man was and how much money he made for the business. The plaintiff called him so they could prove how much their damages were worth.

The cross-examination was an interesting one.

"You talked about how much of an asset Yakone was to your company, but could you explain to the jury how he was a liability?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Let me explain. In 99AG, your company paid 10,000 coins to a woman named Jina who alleged that Yakone raped her and impregnated her …"

"Objection, this is incompetent and immaterial."

"Counselor," the judge inquired.

"It is definitely material. His testimony was to establish how much money he was bringing into the company, so the plaintiff could establish how much she believes her claim is worth. If Yakone was costing the company lots of money because they were paying claims against him, then this must be taken into account because it would lesson his worth to the company and it makes it likely that he would have been fired had been able to keep working."

"I'll allow it, for now, but tread carefully."

"Yes your honor. Isn't it true that Jina accused Yakone of raping and impregnating her?"

"Yes it is."

"And didn't your company pay 10,000 coins so she wouldn't go to the police and possibly damage the company's reputation?"

"Yes we did."

"So Yakone was also a liability."

"I don't think one case …."

"But it wasn't just one case was it. Your company paid several claims because of his alleged conduct.'

"I don't remember."

"Well, your secretary does and she sent me copies of all of the settlements to comply with our subpoena. You also paid one claim for aggravated assault when Yakone allegedly bloodbended another man through a window during a bar fight. The victim in that settlement still has glass in his head."

"Objection."

"I withdraw the last statement."

"Be careful."

"I apologize, your honor. We also have a claim for attempted molestation that was broken up when the bar owner heard the scuffle in the bathroom. He believed it was consensual and just gave him a warning and there were (other cases)."

"Okay! He got accused of a lot of bad things and we kept paying. The first time, we believed him. The second time, we got suspicious and by the third, we were stuck. If we didn't get paying, then it would get out that we had paid before and it would ruin our image."

"So he was a liability to your company."

"Yes, a huge one."

Damn! The mood in the courtroom suddenly changed.

"Now, I would like to cross-examine Yakone's wife."

She was furious when she took the stand.

"You described your husband as caring. How can you say that given all of the allegations against him?"

"They were liars."

"Was your husband ever violent with you?"

"No."

"Didn't he bloodbend you into a wall, breaking your arm?"

"No!"

"Isn't that what you told your sister when she asked you how your arm was broken?"

"Maybe."

"So you lied."

"I was mad at him."

"Are you lying now because you're mad at Katara?"

"Objection!"

"I'll start a new line of questioning.

"You told the court that you loved your husband."

"I do."

"I haven't gotten to the question yet. You were, however, dating another man before when you met your husband."

"I broke up with Kirin for Yakone."

"You went with Yakone, but you stayed with Kirin, didn't you?"

"Relevance?"

"She's suing for loss of companionship. If she didn't love her husband, then what did she lose?"

"I'll allow it."

"I might have seen him once or twice."

"Didn't you give him 5,000 coins so he wouldn't lose his house?"

"Maybe."

"And when Yakone found out, he bloodbended you into a wall and broke your arm."

"Objection, she already denied that."

* * *

It was time for lunch. For a first day, this trial was very passionate. Usually, the juicy stuff didn't come until day 2 or 3.

Katara nervously ate a lot.

"You're going to eat the fork," Toph teased.

"Eating is easier than thinking right now."

"I feel that way often," Sokka said as he ate.

Azula was puzzled by this case. Why would Yakone's wife bring it if she knew she would look terrible?

She had a question for the lawyer. "Did Yakone have a will or a living trust?"

"I'm not sure, why?"

"I find something suspect about all of this. Can you have someone look into it?"

"Of course."

That afternoon, they heard from the expert witness who explained how bloodbending could burst blood vessels in the brain causing aneurysms.

"Could this happen even if you were bloodbending another body part like an arm or a leg?"

"Yes, the blood flows fast enough that a wrong move in a limb could affect the brain."

"No more questions."

On cross, Katara's doctor asked, "What can a bloodbender do to mitigate the risk of an aneurysm."

"Not bloodbend."

"Anything else."

"Avoid the brain. That would increase the odds."

"So if one were being violently attacked and needed to bloodbend to get to safety, then a risk of an aneurysm is inevitable."

"In that circumstance, yes."

"In such a case, the bloodbender would not be negligent if she were targeting a limb and the brain got an air bubble."

"I suppose not."

"Thank you, no further questions."

They recessed until tomorrow. The next day was the hospital doctor and the officer who Katara found. Katara's defense should start Wednesday.


	9. Chapter 9

"I must say, I am surprised by how terrible their case looks," Mai said.

The others started clamoring.

Azula was silent.

"What's wrong Zula?" Ty Lee questioned.

"I've learned that when things seem too easy, they are. There is a reason that they are putting on this farce of a case, and I'm going to worry until I figure it out."

"You don't think she's delusional?" Sokka questioned.

"He broke her arm. He likely forced himself on her and that maybe how their child was conceived. She knows exactly what kind of monster he is, but she's 'protecting' his name when he won't know the difference. This makes a difference to someone. Someone we don't know yet."

* * *

The next day was relatively boring. The hospital doctor was really a neutral party. He did the surgery and had no position on how the aneurysm happened or whether or not there was negligence. He just explained what the outcome was and how much it would cost to treat him for life.

The police officer was fairly Katara-friendly, but he had reason to protect his own interest. He made an on the scene determination that she was honest. He had no reason to change his mind now.

At the end of the day, the plaintiff closed the case.

The defense filed a judgment as a matter of law, which means he argued to the judge that the plaintiff's case was so bad that no reasonable jury could award her damages.

The judge decided to reserve her decision on the motion until after the defense presented its case.

"Why didn't the judge just throw it out now?" Sokka wondered.

"Usually, the judge reserves the motion unless the case is impossibly bad," Katara's lawyer explained. "This case is bad, but if a jury used all of the facts in a way that favors the plaintiff and made every possible inference in their favor, it could maybe rule in her favor. That's enough to beat the motion. Once we submit additional facts, our motion will be stronger."

"Then why file it now?"

"Because the judge might have agreed to dismiss the case and it doesn't cost me any time to file now."

Sokka found the field baffling.

* * *

Wednesday

Katara would be the first witness. Azula had given her a massage that morning, and possibly oral in the shower, to keep her as relaxed as possible. Azula did a hickey check. "You're good!"

They went to court. The line was even longer today. Everyone wanted to hear this opening statement.

The judge had to slam her gavel three times to get order in the courtroom. "I will throw you all out if you don't behave."

The crowd was now silent.

Katara's lawyer stood. He was tall, handsome for a 50 year old, and he looked rather distinguished. He was always clean-shaven.

"This is a simple case. Katara was walking home from dinner and drinks with her brother and a friend when the plaintiff's husband tried to rape her in an alley. She thought he was a mugger and tried to give him her purse, but he didn't want money. He wanted to abuse her. She tried to use her waterbending, but he stole her water skin. She tried to get the water from the gutter, but there wasn't one nearby. She hates bloodbending. She had vowed to never do it again and she had never wanted to learn in the first place. She wasn't even sure if she could do it without a full moon, but she tried anyway because she wanted to survive. All she did was move his arms off her body and somehow he collapsed.

You already heard his surgeon and an expert discuss how he got a brain aneurysm. Between them, they have no idea. How could a seventeen year old girl know what happened either? How could she have anticipated that saving herself would damage this man's brain? She couldn't and she can't be held responsible for what wasn't her fault and what she couldn't have known. If she owed the plaintiff's husband anything, it was to defend herself with the least damaging method possible, but he stripped those from her. He left her with no other option but to bloodbend and his unfortunate situation is no one's fault but his own.

To make this story even sadder, his wife was pregnant with their child at the time. Instead of being at home with her, he was praying on women that came out of the bar, hoping they would be too drunk to get away from him. He left his wife to struggle to support herself and her son and he cannot support himself anymore. This is terrible, but it is not a reason to make Katara pay. She has already been victimized once. She doesn't need the judicial process to victimize her again.

Follow the facts. It's a simple case."

Katara took the stand. She explained what happened to her that day. She was clear and concise. She had practiced, but she didn't sound rehearsed.

Her cross-examination was interesting. The lawyer asked if she had ever met Yakone.

"No."

"He was not your lover?"

"Clearly not. I didn't know him."

"You never went to Omashu with him for vacation."

"What?"

"Objection. This line of questioning is redundant and unsubstantiated by any factual record."

"Unless you have evidence of an affair, refrain from this line of questioning!"

"Yes your Honor."

"Would you say you are one for impromptu sexual encounters with strangers?"

"No!"

"Objection!"

"Counselor?"

"Let me rephrase, have you ever had an impromptu sexual experience with a stranger?"

"No!"

"You didn't find Yakone attractive?"

"He's too old, and I prefer women."

The crowd gasped. They didn't see that coming.

"What?"

"She answered the question."

"Move on, Counselor!"

"Right, um why didn't you take a carriage?"

"I couldn't find one."

"They weren't on the street outside the bar."

"No, I checked there!"

The audience snickered.

"Order!"

He kept challenging her testimony, but he had nothing to suggest she was lying. Katara almost yelled at him for getting on her nerves for no reason!

* * *

The next witness was a historian.

"Why is he a witness?"

"He is the leading researcher on bloodbending accidents, and he has a theory on this case."

"I'll allow it."

"There are several documented cases of accidents that happened when bloodbenders fought each other. It's part of why the art is banned."

"How would this happen?"

"When you are bloodbending someone, you are controlling their blood, in effect overcoming their chi. If they can bloodbend too, then they can try to control your blood and your chi. It becomes a battle of chi. What can happen is why you are trying to bloodbend your opponent, you can accidentally bloodbend yourself. This happens if their chi suddenly overtakes yours. It's like redirecting someone's projectile right back at them."

"And what kind of accidents would happen?"

"Burst vessels, eyeballs pop out of heads. It was totally gross!"

"And could an aneurysm happen from this bloodbending duel?"

"Absolutely."

"And this what you believe happened here?"

"Yes. He may have been trying to bloodbend her, but her chi overpowered his, so he went down instead."

"No more questions."

The plaintiff's lawyer emphasized that this was all conjecture, and the witness admitted that, but he said it was as good a theory as any and they would likely never know exactly what happened.

They recessed for lunch.

Katara was relieved that she wouldn't have to testify again, well at least not until the counterclaim was heard.

"I'm surprised he isn't having us testify," Sokka said about the main claim.

"He thought the redundancy might convince the jury it was staged," Azula said.

"Isn't that a stretch?" Suki questioned.

"Maybe, but juries love conspiracy theories," Mai added.

* * *

There was only one more witness for the defense.

He was a carriage driver.

"What is your name?"

"Ling."

"And what do you do?"

"I drive a carriage."

"And where to you wait for customers."

"Outside the bar," where Katara had been.

"And where you there the night of this incident?"

"I was."

"But Katara didn't see you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I had been paid 30 coins to go in a ride around the city."

"With whom?"

"No one, the carriage was empty."

"You got paid just to leave the stand area."

"Yes."

"So Katara wouldn't have been able to get a carriage."

"I don't know why I was paid."

"Do you know who paid you?"

"He wore a cloak, so I didn't see his face too well, but he was tall and broad shoulders. I think he was older than I was."

"And you are?"

"35."

"So he may have been Yakone."

"Maybe."

On cross, the plaintiff's lawyer pointed out he had no idea who the man was and it could have been anyone. Still, it was odd that a man paid the carriage to pull off just as Katara was leaving, as if to make her walk home.

The jury started deliberations that afternoon. It was a record 20 minutes for them to come back and say that Katara was not liable for any of the claims.

Since there was no liability, there could be no damages. Her counterclaim would start tomorrow.

* * *

A huge anchor was lifted.

Yakone's wife didn't seem too mad. She scowled, but given her earlier behavior, Azula expected her to be livid. Something was definitely going on!

The media hounded Katara, trying to get her first reaction. All she said was, "I'm glad the jury based their decision on the truth." She got into the carriage and they sped off.

They decided a round of drinks was needed since there had been so much tension over the past three days.

They went to a bar on the "fancy" side of town and got a large booth where they shared signature cocktails.

Azula noticed the man in the corner. "He was at each day of the trial," she whispered to Katara.

Since so many people wanted to go, the crowd often changed, but one man had been there each day in the corner.

Azula got out of her chair and pretended to go to the bathroom. Suddenly, she changed directions and sat at his table.

"Who are you and what is your interest in my girlfriend?"

"I don't know what you mean," he lied. "I don't even know her."

"Then why do you keep coming to her trial and why are you here?"

He hopped out the window and Azula ran out the side door, she knew she could catch him at the end of the block if she took a shortcut and she did, tackling into the ground. He groaned, and she knew that groan; she had heard it before.

"Aang?"

Busted.

He took off the hat. "Yeah you caught me."

"What in Agni's name are you doing?"

He explained how he wanted to apologize, but he didn't want to stress her out during the trial, so he didn't tell her he was here, but he thought he should support her like everyone else was, so he hid in the back. "I also didn't want the plaintiff's lawyer to find me. I kind of said some stupid stuff to him when I was bitter, and I knew he wanted me to testify, so I figured if I came here in a disguise, he wouldn't be able to find me."

"So you hid from the trial at the trial?"

"Yes."

"That's so devious and underhanded. I'm impressed you thought of that."

"I guess all virtues have to yield sometimes."

"And what are your virtues yielding to now."

"The universe. I was so fixated on my role that I forgot that I am apart of the Earth just like everyone else. I can't just expect people to yield to me because I'm the Avatar."

"Like Katara."

"Especially her."

"Come on. I think you learned your lesson."

"Should we have helped her?" Mai questioned.

"Azula knows what she's doing," Zuko said. "And I haven't heard lightening, so it's probably fine."

"I found a straggler," Azula said as she brought Aang into the bar.

"What is he doing here?" Katara snapped.

"I'm really sorry about, well I did too many stupid things to list them all right now, but I just wanted to say that I want you to be happy, and if Azula makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

She got up and hugged him. "Where was this six months ago?"

"Um Gyatso came to me in and berated me for being an idiot."

"Well thank the spirits for Gyatso."

"So you're going to finally do your job?" Toph snapped.

"I'm sorry I left you hanging. Before I got here, I helped Kuei make a new deal with the nobility, so they would stop threatening to kick him out. I have a lot of catching up to do."

"It can wait until tomorrow. Drink?"

"I had to quit. I kind of went on a bender when I moved back to the Air Temple."

"You went on a bender?" Mai asked incredulously.

"Apparently drinking 8-10 bottles of wine a week is a bad idea."

"What?" Zuko gasped.

"I did a lot of stupid things this year."

As Aang found his place amongst his friends, Azula couldn't help but shake the feeling she was missing something. She was sure the mysterious man had something to do with his lawsuit, but it was just Aang. What was she missing?

Thursday

It was another packed courtroom. Posttraumatic stress disorder was a relatively new diagnosis. Everyone wanted to see how the courts would respond to it relative to more common mental problems. The courtroom had academics, doctors and lawyers who were eager to see how this all played out.

Azula noticed Yakone's business associate came today. It seemed odd, since he would not likely be a witness in this trial. Was there something going on between him and Yakone's wife? Is that what this is about? Maybe there was some kind of fidelity clause in the trust. That doesn't sound right. Azula needed to see how Yakone kept his assets. Something was very peculiar

Katara's lawyer opened the counter claim.

"Our claim is quite simple. After Katara was attacked, she was subsequently diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. This caused her to suffer from severe anxiety and depression, which all but crippled her bending, making it impossible for her to make a living as a waterbending instructor. She is out three months pay. She had to pay for psychiatric exams and medication in order to be able to recover and work again. Her relationships with her friends and family suffered, as is often the case for victims of violence. Her quality of life was diminished for months.

The plaintiff's husband made a fortune before he became disabled. All we are asking for is fairness, that a portion of that fortune be used to right a wrong he committed as best he can, to pay for Katara's damages, and that punitive damages be rewarded to deter such abhorrent conduct. Should Yakone recover from his injury, which his doctors have not excluded, he should not be allowed to live like a fat cow pig when he has caused so much suffering."

The plaintiff's lawyer decided to defer until it was time for his defense.

"Copycat," Toph whispered.

Sokka nudged her, but it was pretty funny. This lawyer seemed prepared, but still was mediocre somehow.

Dr. Sing was the first expert to testify.

"Did you examine Katara?"

"I did."

"Please share any findings that you made."

"I found that Katara was suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder."

"And how did you make that determination?"

"I considered her recent history and her symptoms and it was consistent with ptsd."

"Could you elaborate?"

"Certainly. Often ptsd affects people who were in the zone of danger. They saw violent conduct or tragic accidents, but they may not have actually been physically harmed. In our field, we used to think that one had to be maimed to have serious mental illness, but often it is the comrade who comes out unscathed while the man next to him loses an arm that undergoes ptsd. People who lose arms obviously have physical difficulty and there is a certain mental affliction that comes with having a disfigurement and being seen differently by the public, but those who witness those events tend to suffer anxiety, avoidance, and have repeated flashbacks or intrusive memories. Often this is mistaken for depression or survivor's guilt, and those can also be a factor but PTSD is its own affliction."

"And was Katara diagnosed with depression?"

"She was initially, but her other symptoms were more consistent with PTSD."

"And your qualifications are?"

"I received my degree in psychiatry from Ba Sing Se University in 100AG. While I was in school, I worked in a clinic, which treated veterans of the war, and I published a paper on my findings about PTSD. Many of the patients I observed suffered from it."

"And how many patients have you treated?"

"Well over 100."

"That must be a lot for a short time."

"It is, but I have a very good staff with me, and people come from all over the world in need of help. I try not to turn anyone away."

"Can you explain the treatment regiment you prescribed to Katara?"

"I wanted to address her anxiety and loss of appetite first, so I prescribed her ½ a gram of cannabis a week."

"Is that normal?"

"Yes and no. Cannabis has been known to stimulate the appetite, commonly referred to as the munchies, and has been known to relax people; however, I am one of the first to recommend using it for PTSD. It was often reserved for people who lost their appetite because of their medication or some type of physical problem.

"And how many patients have you treated with cannabis?"

"At least 50."

"And were the results generally favorable?"

"Yes."

"What did you do if a patient reacted poorly?"

"Usually changing the strain to one that is less potent would solve the problem. Cannabis has elements that counteract each other. Each strain is different, so it may take some experimentation to get the right balance."

"Did Katara come back to your clinic?"

"She did twice."

"And how had her status changed?"

"She was at a healthy weight, eating normally and had returned to work. She reported that her anxiety had decreased significantly, and as a result, she was able to reduce her use of the medication."

"But she still has anxiety."

"Yes."

"That will be all doctor."

The plaintiff's lawyer accused the doctor of being a glorified drug dealer. He got accused of badgering the witness and the judge threatened to put him in contempt of court.

It was quite a good showing for Dr. Sing. The media ate it up and he answered questions all afternoon.

Katara took the stand in the afternoon. She explained how she kept having night terrors where she would relive the incident, but it would be worse. He'd stab her or she couldn't get him away and he'd rape her. "This went on for months and months."

"When was your last night terror?"

"February."

"So this went on for 10 months."

"Yes."

"How did it affect your life?"

"I lost so much sleep, I couldn't work. I was so scared during the day I couldn't eat and it put me at odds with my brother and my friend Aang who were trying to help me. I would snap at them, lock myself in my room for hours and generally throw fits."

"How long were you out of work?"

"I took leave in May and I resumed working full time in October."

"Five months."

"Yes. I worked part time for two weeks in September, to make sure I wouldn't get overwhelmed by returning."

The lawyer submitted her time sheets to show her wages and her hours from January before the attack until October.

"Were you given any sick pay?"

"Two months. The rest was uncovered."

"Did you try any treatment before you saw Dr. Sing in July?"

"I saw a doctor in May, Dr. Xhu. He diagnosed me with depression after a house visit and when I went into his office the following week, he tried the cocoon method, wrapping me in blanket and having me talk to him. I started freaking out and the first chance I got, I ran out there and never returned. I became wary of treatment after that."

"But you did go in July. Can you tell us why?"

"In June, my brother insisted I try going on a vacation. Azula and Ty Lee invited me to go to the beach with them on Ember Island and I did. Azula suggested that Dr. Sing could help me. She had seen him about two years before."

"Where she had also been diagnosed with PTSD?"

"Yes."

"And did she offer you any medicine?"

"She offered me cannabis, yes."

"And your anxiety."

"Started to ease in about 20 minutes."

"And the loss of appetite."

"I had no trouble eating."

"And when you returned home, you went and saw Dr. Sing."

"Yes."

"You also struggled with your bending after the attack?"

"I did."

"When did you notice?"

"I noticed it when I got home from the hospital, but it got worse in May. I could barely bend in June."

"Did it get better?"

"It started to after Ty Lee gave me a chi massage, but I wasn't at my normal capacity until September, after I visited Guru Pathik.

"No further questions."

* * *

The cross examination was well kind of appalling.

"So you say you suffer from night terrors."

"I did. I hope they won't come back."

"And this persisted for several months."

"It did."

"Could you afford to be out of work for so long?"

"No. I don't exactly come from money."

"But you didn't sue earlier? Why not if you needed the money?"

"I was too scared. The only time I had seen Yakone's wife, she was screaming at me. I was afraid that if I sued her, especially while she was pregnant and struggling to manage her husband, I might cause to her snap."

"But you aren't afraid of suing her now?"

"She already sued me. I'd have to be here anyway."

"So this lawsuit was convenient."

"I wouldn't call it convenient. I'm missing work. My friends and family disrupted their lives to be here for me. I would have preferred to settle the case."

"And why didn't you?"

"Because you called me a lying whore and insisted your client wouldn't pay a dime. You said even if I got a judgment, you'd just hide her assets so she wouldn't have to pay."

The audience gasped.

"Objection!" the plaintiff's lawyer called out.

"It was your question," Katara's lawyer retorted.

"She's not supposed to discuss what happens in settlement negotiations." They are confidential to encourage the parties to be candid when they try to settle.

"Then you shouldn't ask about settling the case," the judge told him.

"Can I withdraw the question?"

"You can," but the jury already heard the answer.

They recessed for the rest of the day.

Katara was tired after all of that. She and Azula went straight home.

* * *

The next day, Azula was called to testify.

"Please state your name and occupation."

"Azula, Crown Princess of the Fire Nation."

"Can you explain how you came to be on vacation with Katara?"

"My brother had received a letter from Sokka, Katara's brother."

"Objection. How does she know who wrote the letter?"

"He showed it to me."

"You can't answer him," the judge told her.

"Sorry."

"How did you find out about the letter?"

"My brother showed it to me."

"Did you recognize the handwriting?"

"Yes, it was Sokka's."

"And how do you know his handwriting?"

"Because I have worked with him before. I have a very good memory."

"Is the counselor satisfied that Sokka did write this letter and that Fire Lord Zuko did receive the letter?"

"I am."

"And what was in the letter?"

"Sokka was worried about Katara, and his attempts to help her were not very well received. He was looking for advice."

"And what advice, if any, did you offer?"

"Ty Lee and I had been planning to go on vacation. We offered to take her with us. We thought a change of scenery would do her some good, and maybe a fresh perspective would be helpful."

"And what happened when this vacation took place?"

"Ty Lee and I got there first, so we could make sure that the house was clean and the food supplies were stocked. We also made sure the hot tub was working. Katara arrived two days later."

"Did you notice any changes in her from when you had seen her last?"

"She was thinner, and she seemed nervous. She's usually confident."

"Did you ever witness her night terrors?"

"The first one was I saw was her first night there. I heard this screaming noise and when I ran into her room, she was convulsing. I hugged her until she stopped shaking. She woke up and I stayed with her until she went back to sleep."

"How many days did she stay at the house?"

"10 days."

"And how many night terrors did she have?"

"Six that I observed."

"So they occurred often."

"Yes."

"Did you ever talk to her about them?"

"I did."

"And what did you say?"

"I thought that she might have PTSD."

"And why is that?"

"I had night terrors for the first two years after the war ended. I was diagnosed with PTSD in June of 101AG."

"Did you have any other symptoms?"

"Loss of appetite, anxiety and I struggled with my bending."

"So your symptoms were similar to Katara's."

"They were."

"And you saw Dr. Sing?"

"I did."

"And his treatment was helpful?"

"It was."

"And how did your bending come back?"

"I saw Guru Pathik in November of 101AG. He was able to help me reopen my chakras."

"Did you recommend Katara visit him too?"

"I did."

"And you took her to see him."

"I did, in September."

"Where you there when her bending returned?"

"I was."

"Can you describe what happened?"

"A girl slapped Katara in the face. She bended the stream behind the girl and threw her in it."

The audience laughed.

"Katara's confidence was back."

"It was."

"No further questions."

Azula's cross-examination happened after lunch, since it was too close to the lunch break to start it right away.

* * *

"Still think this trial is some kind of sham?" Mai asked Azula while they ate braised cow pig.

"Yes, but I won't be able to figure it out until her lawyer finds the paperwork, and that probably won't happen until the trial's over. It's almost over as it is."

"Does it matter?"

"Depends on what the jury says."

"Fair enough."

They went back to court.

Azula took the stand again.

"So, Azula," the man started.

"It's Princess Azula."

He glared. The audience snickered.

"You're not my princess."

"But this is still a court. People call you counselor even though you're not their lawyer."

"Please remember to use her title," the judge told him.

"Yes your Honor. _Princess_ Azula you testified that you observed Katara's night terrors."

"I did."

"And you would have no reason to lie about that?"

"No."

"Even though she's your girlfriend?"

"Objection. Assuming facts not yet in evidence."

"Sustained."

"Let me rephrase. Is she your girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"So you have a reason to lie, so she wins this case."

"No."

"Please explain your answer."

"She received the complaint in October. In October, I met with her lawyer and explained to him what happened. We didn't start dating until December. The story I told him then is the same one I'm telling now. I had no such reason to lie in October."

The lawyer frowned. "Did you like her in October?"

"Of course. We were friends."

"Did you pursue a romantic relationship with her in October?"

"No."

"In November."

"No."

"In December."

"No."

"How did you get involved?"

"She pursued me."

"But in October, you had some inkling that she would pursue you."

"No, she caught me by surprise. I thought she was straight."

The crowd snickered.

"So in October, when you were questioned by her lawyer, you had no knowledge that she would pursue you two months later."

"Exactly."

"So you had no reason to make this up then."

"Exactly."

That didn't work out the way he had hoped.

"No further questions."


	10. Chapter 10

Sokka also testified that day.

"Can you please state your name and occupation?"

"Sokka and staff worker for the United Republic Council in Republic City."

"When you first learned your sister was attacked, what did you do?"

"Aang and I rushed to the hospital. She had been sedated, so we couldn't talk to her until the next day. I got there as soon as visiting hours were open. She was just waking up."

"And she explained to you what happened?"

"She did."

"How did she seem?"

"Tired and a little anxious, but other than that fine."

"She didn't show any symptoms of mental distress."

"No. I mean she was stressed, but I didn't see anything abnormal under the circumstances."

"When did you start noticing abnormal symptoms?"

"About two weeks after the attack."

"What happened?"

"She had been at work when Yakone's wife confronted her. She had a panic attack and got sent home early."

"And you started to pay closer attention to her."

"I did. I visited every day. Some days she looked like she hadn't slept a tall. She was irritable. She wasn't eating. I wasn't sure of what to do, so I wrote to Aang and he came from the Southern Air Temple."

"He moved to Republic City because she was unwell."

"Yes."

"And did she improve?"

"No. She got worse at first. Suki, my girlfriend, came to visit but she didn't respond to her very well either. We tried bringing a psychiatrist to her apartment, but that only made her mad. We convinced her to go see him in his office the following week, but then she freaked out. We didn't know what to do."

"And how did this affect your personal relationship with her?"

"It was really hard. We've always been there for each other, but this time, I had no idea what to do. I felt helpless."

"So you wrote to your friends to ask for advice."

"I did."

"And you subsequently sent Katara on vacation."

"Yes."

"And how was she when she came back?"

"She was still unwell, but she was a lot better."

"When did her status change?"

"She was even better when I saw her at the End of the War Party. She finally agreed to go home and visit our family."

"She had been reluctant to do that before."

"Yes."

"And she did go home."

"I saw her there in September."

"And when you saw her in December, how was she?"

"She was great. She was back at work. She and Azula just started dating. She was really happy."

"No further questions."

* * *

Sokka's cross would have to wait until Friday. After that would be the defense. The trial would likely end on Monday.

There was a Thursday night drink promotion at The Abbey.

The Gaang got dressed up and headed out. Aang avoided the drinks, but they had good food, so he ordered spicy curry popovers and veggie fried rice.

Toph was making fun of the plaintiff's lawyer. "I can't believe he sucks so bad."

"He would have to be a bad lawyer to take such a terrible case," Sokka added.

"Maybe not," Mai said. "If he's getting paid to file it, who cares if it's bad."

"Do lawyers get paid if you lose?" Toph questioned.

"That depends," Azula said. "If he took it on a contingency basis, then no, but if he charged an hourly rate, he gets paid no matter what happens."

"What's a contingency basis?" Aang asked her.

"Let's say you have a good case. A noble stabbed you at a party, and you would easily win a lot of money in court, but you can't afford a lawyer. A lawyer could take your case on a contingency. He gets 25% of whatever you win, so if you get a lot, he gets a lot, but if you lose, he gets nothing. Lawyers only agree to do this when they expect to win."

"So the plaintiff's lawyer wouldn't have done that."

"Probably not."

"Who pays out of pocket for a losing case?" Zuko wondered aloud.

"I've been trying to figure that out for weeks," Azula said. "I'm missing something."

"You overthink," Katara told her.

"Yeah she does," Mai added.

"Maybe you're right." Azula kissed her cheek. She would continue to wonder, but she might never figure it out.

* * *

On Friday, the plaintiff's lawyer tried to suggest that Sokka was lying for his sister.

"Did you ever break things as a child?"

"Of course, didn't everyone."

"And when you did, would your sister cover for you?"

"No. She'd say you shouldn't have done that."

"You two didn't lie for each other?"

"No. We'd usually sell each other out."

"And why was that?"

He shrugged. "We were kids. We'd like to get under each other's skin I guess."

"So you wouldn't have exaggerated her symptoms to help her win her case."

"No."

There wasn't much to the cross-examination.

The defense rested and the plaintiff opened their case.

"The defendant alleges she has PTSD, but she was diagnosed with depression initially. She could have been depressed from a variety of things, losing her mother as a child or ending a two-year relationship just a few months before. Who knows if this supposed attack was related?"

He called Katara's first doctor who testified that he thought she was depressed. "She wasn't sleeping and was withdrawn."

"You didn't think it was PTSD?"

"The thought hadn't occurred to me."

"And did you discover the cause of her depression."

"No, she ran out screaming."

"No further questions."

The testimony was so short that the defense counsel was startled. "May I have a moment please?"

"Make it quick."

He organized his papers and began the cross. "Are you familiar with the symptoms of PTSD?"

"I am now."

"Were you at the time you saw Katara?"

"No. It hadn't been taught when I was in school. I'm quite a bit older than Dr. Sing."

"In fact, you took a class on it recently after reading one of Dr. Sing's paper's."

"I did."

"And knowing what you know now, what do you think of the symptoms Katara exhibited then?"

"It likely was PTSD."

"And would you have tried the cocoon method if you knew that?"

"No. I would have realized it would have likely scared her."

"No further questions."

"Redirect your honor."

"Go ahead."

"But you still would not have known what caused her PTSD."

"Not for certain. I don't know what would have happened if we had considered it sooner."

"So she could have had PTSD from her mother's death."

"Possibly."

"Or from almost being killed several times during the war."

"Possibly."

"No further questions."

The plaintiff's lawyer then called Dr. Sing to the stand.

"You testified earlier that Katara had PTSD."

"I did."

"Did you determine what caused the PTSD?"

"I did."

"And?"

"And I concluded it was a consequence of Yakone trying to rape her."

"How do you know it wasn't the consequence of any of the other trauma's Katara suffered?"

"Her flashbacks were about the attack. They weren't about her mother or any incidents during the war. Her fears were that Yakone would some how find her and attack her again. There was no reason to suspect that it was a result of earlier trauma, especially when years had gone by snce her last traumatic experience and she had no symptoms."

"But PTSD can manifest years later. You wrote a paper on it."

"It can."

"So this attack could have exacerbated a susceptibility for PTSD?"

"Sure."

"So the underlying cause could involve some earlier trauma that Yakone had nothing to do with."

"It could."

"No further questions."

The cross came next.

"Do all people susceptible to PTSD get it?"

"No. Many of them do not."

"So Katara could have avoided it despite any trauma she suffered in her childhood."

"Yes. That would have been likely."

"So do you think, in your professional opinion, Yakone's attack was a but for cause for Katara's PTSD?"

"Yes. I don't believe she would have suffered it if he had not attacked her."

"Haha, butt!" Toph muttered.

Sokka laughed too. Hakoda glared at them.

* * *

The defense rested. Since it was the last day, they decided to do closing statements before lunch.

The plaintiff's lawyer went first. "The defendant's alleged PTSD is all circumstantial. It is based on the words of the defendant, who is trying to get money, her girlfriend, her brother, and a doctor who got paid to say she had PTSD. Even if you do believe she has it, there are half a dozen terrible things in her life that could have caused it. It would be unfair to assume that Yakone was the culprit, even if you believe that he attacked her. Her claim is too suspect. It should be denied."

The defendant's lawyer followed. "Katara did not have any night terrors in front of you, so you do not have direct evidence of them, but you have plenty of circumstantial evidence which shows that it is more likely than not that they occurred. This is not a criminal trial. Your burden is not beyond a reasonable doubt.

You do not need to be 100% sure. You just have to think it is more likely that Katara, her brother, her girlfriend, and both doctors who saw her are telling the truth than it is that they all made this up to line their pockets and to try and make a poor woman suffer more than necessary.

You saw her timesheets. She did not work for five months, and she loves her job. She could go home to her tribe and not work at all, but she choses to teach waterbending because she wants to empower those who had not been able to learn during the war. After failing to get the help she needed in Republic City, she flew to Ba Sing Se for a second opinion.

Ask yourselves why would she go to a doctor and make up symptoms to bolster a case, when she didn't know she would be sued until three months later. She had no reason to make up her symptoms. She had no reason to lie about the cause of her night terrors.

Her brother is an esteemed member of this country's government. Why would he risk his career and his reputation to lie? Why would the Crown Princess do the same under the threat of perjury? The plaintiff's assertions don't make sene.

It makes sense that after being violently attacked, Katara did suffer from PTSD that her PTSD was caused by said attack and that it took months to be able to properly diagnose and treat her so she could return to work. When things make sense, it's usually because they are true."

The deliberations for this case took more than an hour. If they found the plaintiff liable, then they were to go straight into deliberating the costs.

At the end of the day, the judge asked, "did you reach a verdict?"

"We did," the foreman of the jury stated.

"Please read it."

"We find Yakone, rather his estate, is liable for all of the claims asserted by the defendant."

"Did you decide on damages?"

"We did. We found that Katara is owed one coin in compensatory damages."

Katara almost fainted. Azula held her tightly. The crowd started clamoring.

"HOW COULD THEY!" Sokka was ready to punch someone.

"ORDER!"

"There's more. We find Katara is owed 49,999 coins in punitive damages."

Now that was a surprise. Katara did faint when she heard that. It was twice what she had sued for. Punitive damages are not bound by the initial claim.

The crowd got really loud now.

"I will empty this courtroom!"

Eventually, they quieted down.

"Since this concludes the case, I will set a preliminary date for the discussion of attorney's fees. I assume the defendant will file a motion to have them reimbursed."

"We will," Katara's lawyer told her.

"Very well. This matter is officially adjourned."

Kanna revived Katara with smelling salts.

"What happened?"

"You won. The trial's over."

"I heard something crazy like 50,000 coins."

"No, that was real."

"Don't make me faint again."

"Let's get her into bed."

Sokka frowned.

"Not like that you pervert!"

They got Katara home. "I can't believe it's all over. What am I supposed to do with 50,000 coins?"

"Put it in a trust, so you don't blow it."

Katara frowned.

"What?"

Katara shook her head. "It was a rhetorical question."

"Ah. I was never good at those."

"You don't have to say anything."

"I know."

Since Katara was so tired, they all took her out to celebrate on Saturday. Kanna, Pakku and Hakoda joined the group as they went to a fancy restaurant.

Katara had invited her lawyer, but he said she should celebrate with her friends and family. He'd be an old bore.

"Why did the jury try to scare us like that?" Toph wanted to know.

"They always read compensatory damages first," Mai said. "It was proper procedure."

"Why didn't they just award normal compensatory damages?" Hakoda asked.

"Punitive damages can't be avoided," Zuko answered. "Even if you declare bankruptcy or have a protected trust you still have to pay."

"Say that again," Azula said to him.

"Even if you …"

"No what you said after bankruptcy."

"A protected trust?"

"That's it!" Azula realized why this all happened. "I finally get it."

"Get what?" Kanna questioned.

"Yakone put his money in a protected trust. His wife couldn't get to it. Since Katara won her counterclaim, she can open the trust to pay her claim and get some money out for herself too."

"You think she put on a case she knew she would lose so she could get money for herself?" Mai questioned.

"Yes. Think about it. Why file an outrageous case with little going for you? Why refuse to settle when it looks terrible for you? She could have paid less than 1/3 of the final claim, but she didn't and why get the jury to award punitive damages, unless she wanted to make sure she had to pay."

"But they didn't tell the jury to do that." Aang countered.

"Yes they did. When Katara testified that they threatened to shield their money, the jury heard punitive damages. How much do you want to bet that the water tribe woman on the jury did know Yakone's wife and she used Katara's statement to convince the jury to write the judgment the way she did?"

"It was a massive conspiracy?" Pakku questioned.

"Yes! And now I finally get it!"

"But how will she get money?" Sokka inquired.

"Easy. All she has to do is pick an asset worth 100,000 coins. Sell it for half it's value and pay Katara and then get a kickback from the buyer, maybe a good 40,000 coins. He still gets a good deal, and she gets 40,000 coins under the table and tax free."

When Katara's lawyer did show up at dinner, he had the papers Azula had requested. "It turns out Yakone kept his assets in a protected trust. It could only be accessed if Yakone dissolved it."

"Or if he got sued and had to pay punitive damages."

"Yes but …" The lawyer's jaw dropped. "Holy shit!"

"Exactly."

"It was a scam all along."

"Yep."

"Well I'll be damned. I've never seen this in court and I've been doing this 25 years."

"It all fits. She yelled at Katara at work to piss her off. She thought she could get Katara to sue her. When it didn't work, she decided to sue Katara and purposefully put on a bad case, ensuring that Katara would file a counterclaim to protect herself in case the phony claim won, but Yakone's wife made sure it didn't win. I bet the businessman that came with her, Yakone's cohort, was the one who was going to buy the assets cheap. He probably sent you the settlement papers, to make sure that the plaintiff's case didn't win."

"What do we do?" Katara asked.

"Nothing. She's defrauding her husband. We aren't a party."

"But it's dishonest."

"Do you want to start the trial over again with someone who has power of attorney over him."

She shook her head.

"Then we leave it alone. I can't prove that she did any of this, even though she did."

"Now out of all of the dirty, underhanded, and conniving things I have ever heard," Zuko said, "This takes the cake. I think you met your match, Azula."

Everyone laughed at that.

"Oh I did," Azula kissed Katara on the nose.

August 104AG

As Azula suspected, Yakone's wife sold a chunk of her husband's estate at a questionably cheap price and then promptly moved away from Republic City with her son, leaving Yakone Sr. in the care of a rehabilitation center. Now, the center was trying to sue to use the rest of the estate for his care.

The End of the War Party was in the Fire Nation this year.

Azula was in her room. Her servants were getting her ready. She was wearing a gold halter dress that matched her eyes.

She heard a whistling sound. It was Ty Lee.

"You had your chance," the princess teased.

"I know. Doesn't mean I can't admire."

"As long as you keep your hands to yourself."

"Oh I know what Katara can do."

"And what would that be?"

She appeared. Her hair was up and she had on a blue dress with white accents. She had on blue crescent moon earrings.

"Kick ass and take names," Azula told her as she kissed her cheek. "You look gorgeous."

"I'm glad you like it."

The party was going to start soon. Azula never went strictly at the starting time. People trickle in during the first hour.

The lover poured moon peach wine and shared some with her lover and best friend.

Aang was getting his robes ready. He had orange and grey robes with an Air Nation emblem on what looked like a giant button on his chest.

This would be his first public appearance in a while, and he wanted to make sure it went well. His head was freshly shaved. His teeth were brushed and flossed and he had some cologne on, but not too much.

The acolytes had on grey dresses, also with the same emblem pinned to them. Things were much better in the temple once Aang quit alcohol. He didn't ban it. To drink or not was each girl's individual choice, but until he learned proper restraint, he would go without it.

After the debacle, most of the girls finally realized Aang was just a man. He was kind and very talented, but he wasn't the demi god they had made him out to be. They weren't, except for Hei Won, all over-eager to date him now. He was truly becoming a friend.

Hei Won figured more for her.

"Shall we Aang?"

"We shall!"

They got on Appa and flew to the Palace. He put his buddy in the barn where there were honey combs to feed the pets. Bosco had a stockpile.

He ruffled Appa's fur. The sky bison was glad to have his buddy finally back. He was much better once he came back to the temple after Katara's trial.

He checked in with the other girls and it wasn't long before people started talking to him.

"Twinkle Toes!" Toph greeted him with a punch to the gut.

"Hey Toph." She had on a pretty green dress and "you got a new haircut." She had bangs over her left eye and the rest was shorter. It was edgy. "I like it."

"Thanks. I would say I like your hair, but you're bald!"

He kissed her forehead. "How's Ba Sing Se?"

"Fine for now, but well, you know those people. I'll always be dealing with hooligans!"

"Of course you will be. You're friends with me."

Hei Won stared jealously in the corner. Aang hadn't noticed.

* * *

Zuko was panicking, as he did every time he had to host something. "What if we run out of food or they don't like the décor or they say the whiskey sucks?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "You need to relax. These people will drink too much to remember anything else. It's all fine."

"But I …"

"Am turning into my mother, because that's what you should be saying right now."

He frowned. He still had no idea where Ursa went.

Sokka and Suki came to say hello to Aang and Toph.

"So how's the harem?" Sokka teased.

Aang laughed. "I think it's better now that they all stopped fighting over who could date me."

"Who would fight over you?" Toph questioned.

He shrugged. "It's working much better as friends."

"Are you friends with (benefits)?"

"Sokka!" Suki bopped him.

"Ow!"

"Oh Snoozles!"

They took turns making fun of each other until Aang turned and look starry eyed.

Ty Lee appeared at the party, and she looked gorgeous. Her hair was wavy and she had on this black dress that made her look glamorous.

At first, Toph was afraid his heart was beating for Sugar Queen. She and Azula were right by Ty Lee, but then he headed towards the acrobat.

"Phew!"

"Yeah, me too," Suki retorted.

He approached the acrobat and told her she looked stunning.

Azula and Katara slipped away.

"You mean all I had to do was put her in an evening dress?" Katara hissed.

Azula laughed. "She wore one last year. I think Captain Baldy grew up."

"Aw!" Katara teased.

Ty Lee blushed. "I like your robes."

They started talking about how their July's had gone.

Now that Azula's Republic City work was wrapping up, she was looking to move back to the palace.

"Does that mean you're moving with her?"

Ty Lee nodded. "I'm still a warrior, but now I'll be back with the other girls, which is better than being the third wheel."

Aang chuckled. "You are a better person than I am." Sharing an apartment with an ex and her new girlfriend would be torture.

Cocktails and mocktails made their way around the floor.

"We made an Air Nation spritzer which has no alcohol." It was made from apple and rash cactus juices. Surprisingly, only the outside of the rash cactus caused rashes. The juice was fine to drink.

"Thanks," Aang said as he grabbed two, one for him and one for Ty Lee.

"It tastes like pie," Ty Lee said as she sipped it.

"I love fruit pies."

"Me too."

Azula preferred whiskey sours to "mocktails" and she had one in each hand.

"Double fisting already?" Mai questioned.

"Go big or go home."

"This is your home," Katara told her.

"In my case both!"

"Stupid!" Mai and Katara both told her.

Azula drank happily.

Many of the guests were watching Azula and her lover with curiosity. Their relationship became public when the media in Republic City wrote on it, and this was their first appearance in the Fire Nation.

Toph wondered away from Sokka and Suki. She was sick of being the third wheel. Now, everyone was paired up. She wondered if there was something wrong with her. Why couldn't she find a guy?

"I like your dress," Haru told her.

"Hey Haru. How have you been?"

"Pretty good. I'm helping my dad work on the express train from Omashu to Ba Sing Se. He's a mechanical engineer."

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah. He went back to school after the war ended. We actually graduated the same year."

"I can't imagine going anywhere with my dad. He's kind of well, too overprotective. I ran away during the war and he hired bounty hunters to bring me home."

"Did you come here with anyone?"

"No," she told him.

"Did you want to leave with someone?"

"You prick," she punched his arm.

"I didn't say sex. I could have been inviting you to play pai sho."

"Were you?"

"No!" he guffawed. "I don't know how to play."

"You can work on trains, but you can't move wooden tiles around a board."

"Can you play?"

"I'm blind!"

"Oh, well have a plausible excuse then."

When it was time to sit for the dinner, Azula suggested that Ty Lee sit with Aang. "Their section has plenty of space, and Katara will protect me."

The acrobat went with her new suitor, and he felt optimistic. She smelled really good, like flowers on a spring day.

Ty Lee got along with most of the acolytes well. They wanted to hear all about her travels with the circus, her adventures with Azula and Mai, and her time with the Kyoshi warriors.

They loved being told stories and Ty Lee had a lot of them.

"I was there when Azula got her first kiss."

They were 10 years old. It had been a boy during a coed field trip.

"What happened?"

"She got mad because she didn't tell him he could kiss her. She started chasing him around the museum throwing fireballs. We all got kicked out!"

Azula was quite handsy from the alcohol. She kept sneaking her hot fingertips up Katara's thigh, making the waterbender blush before she would remove the girl's hand.

"Not in front of your brother," she whispered.

"Why not?"

Katara glared.

Azula gave an innocent face.

"Whatever you two are doing, don't!" Zuko scolded.

"Yes, Mother!"

"Don't call me that!"

"You kind of are her mother," Mai said. "Always trying to get her in line, worrying when she's gone."

"You worry about me?" Azula questioned.

"Lies!"

"You're such a softie," Mai told him.

"You're ruining my image."

"What image?" Azula laughed.

Zuko frowned.

Azula went right back to Katara's thigh. She tried to burn off her panties only to get an icy hand on her knee, making her jump.

"What was that?"

"Me getting you under control."

Azula kissed her. "Can you control that?"

"Can you two get a room?" Zuko whined.

"Gladly." Azula went to pick her up.

"Not yet."

Azula pouted.

"You'll have to wait until the end of the night."

"But that's a long time from now." And I'm horny.

"Wow, having to wait for sex, how horrible," Mai said dryly.

"Is Zuko still determined to save himself for marriage?"

Iroh dropped his fork.

"Shut up!" Zuko told her.

"When was this?" Mai questioned.

"I hate you."

"I love you too Zuzu."

Katara kissed her.

"What was that for?"

"To shut you up."

"Well, in that case," Azula kissed her again.

Their open affection was quite shocking. Anyone in eyesight of them was watching. Some strained their necks trying to watch and waiters often made double takes.

"I'm going to be sick," Zuko complained.

"It could be worse," Mai teased. "At least they're not …"

"Don't finish that sentence."

"What sentence?" Katara questioned.

"Doing it on the table."

Zuko dropped his fork. "Now I give up."

"I do like tables," Azula admitted.

"What's wrong with you?" Zuko questioned.

"They're a good height if you're standing and …"

"I don't want to know any of this."

Mai only laughed.

"Why did you encourage this?"

"Because I take pleasure in your misfortune."

"Oh no wonder you love him. He has lots of it!"

"I need a new girlfriend and a new sister."

"Well, that girl who keeps glaring at Ty Lee is single."

"Hei Won?" Katara said when she looked.

"Oh is that the girl you threw in the stream?"

"Yep."

"You threw her in a stream?" Iroh questioned. Azula sounded like a bad influence.

"Oh she deserved it. She was a witch!"

"How long do you think it will be before Ty Lee chi blocks her?"

"Hard to say," Katara told her, "but I do think Hei Won will totally humiliate herself tonight."

"Well, that's a given."

Katara looked over at the Earth Kingdom table. "Haru's flirting with Toph."

Azula turned around. "They would contrast nicely together."

"What do you know about straight people," Mai questioned.

"Haru's pretty. If it wasn't for the facial hair and his big chin, he totally could have passed for a girl."

"Are you serious?" Zuko questioned.

"What? He's prettier than Hei Won."

Katara laughed loudly. People turned to stare at her. "Can't a girl have a good time?"

They turned back around, eventually.

"I can't take you anywhere," Zuko chastised.

"That's why you sent me abroad for almost a year to represent you."

"I could kick myself for that."

Azula kicked him under the table.

"OW!"

"I kicked you. You're welcome."

Mai snickered. "You walked into that."

"Darn it!"

"What part of rhetorical do you not understand?" Katara questioned.

"Um, the core concept!"

Suki and Sokka were eating with the Southern Water Tribe.

"It's good to see Katara so happy," Suki commented.

"But do they have to kiss so much? Serious oogies!"

"I think they're sweet."

"She's not your sister."

Suki was an only child.

"At least you're not at the table."

"Zuko must be having serious oogies right now."

Sokka formed another meat pile. "Yum!"

Hakoda wondered how his son wasn't 200 kilos.

Arnook had hoped that Katara would become his tribe's princess. That hope was long dead.

It looks like they were back to the drawing board for trying to determine the future chief.


	11. Chapter 11

Once the meal was over, the dance music came on and people started to dance. Hei Won begged Aang to dance with her. He sheepishly agreed, giving Ty Lee an apologetic look.

Azula looked over. "Watch this. Embarrassment will happen soon."

She and Katara watched as Hei Won kept trying to press her body against Aang's. He kept trying to keep a polite distance between them. She was desperate, but he was a master airbender. He could always make a space between them.

Hei Won was confident that he would eventually lower his resistance. She had been drinking all dinner and it showed when she threw her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him. He airbended away, leaving her kissing the air in between her arms.

Any attempt to pretend that moment didn't happen failed when Azula laughed raucously. Her face turned red as she grabbed her stomach. Katara glared at her, but it was pretty funny.

"I just don't like you that way," Aang told her.

"It's that Fire Nation hussy!" she screamed before she stormed off. Everyone stared at her.

Aang was mortified. Azula wanted to keep laughing, but she was able to control the temptation. "Maybe she'll just go cool off somewhere."

"I would say this is karma, but that was pretty bad!" Toph said.

"Well, you know what they say," Haru said to Toph as they observed the debacle

"What?"

"Fire Nation girls to bed, Water Tribe girls to wed, Earth Kingdom girls to talk to."

"You asshole!" She smacked him.

"My dad told it to me." It was a war truism. The reasoning was that Fire Nation girls are easy, water tribe girls are nurturing and Earth Kingdom girls are interesting but not particularly easy or nurturing, so they were good for conversation.

* * *

Slowly, the other guests went back to what they were doing before Hei Won's outburst.

Aang didn't know what to do. "Did you want to look at the stars with me?" he asked Ty Lee.

"Sure."

They left.

"Already. She's not making him wait long," Azula whispered in Katara's ear.

"You're so bad."

"I thought that's what you liked about me."

"You're like a cactus."

"What?"

"Prickly on the outside, sweet on the inside, and you know how to make me go crazy."

"Let's dance."

Azula lead as they moved around the floor. Katara had learned a variety of formal dances as she attended many events with Aang, but Azula had a more modern number in mind. Her feet moved quickly, her hips moving in a sultry manner as she pulled Katara close to her.

Katara found Azula's shoulders, quickly trying to learn the pattern, so she didn't trip and fall.

"Just follow my lead," Azula whispered in her ear as she spun her around. She guided Katara back into her arms and kissed her sweetly. "I love you so much," she murmured before she went to kiss her again.

Katara froze, and then she stopped Azula with her hand.

"What's wrong?"

"You love me?"

"Of course I love you."

"You've never said it before."

Azula laughed as she kissed her hand. "Maybe not in those words but with every kiss, every touch, and every embrace," I say it.

Katara's heart started working overtime. She pulled Azula close and hissed, "I want you to ravish me tonight, like you did when we first …"

Azula covered her mouth with a kiss. "Consider it done."

"Why are you so tall?" Toph complained as she danced with Haru.

"Why are you so short?" Haru teased.

"I'm just small boned!"

He laughed as he put her on a chair. "Now, we're in the same frame."

"You're an ass!"

He surprised her with a kiss. Finally, she knew whom she was kissing!

Sokka eyed them suspiciously. "I don't trust him," he told Suki.

"Haru's nice," Suki told him.

"They're always nice, until they try to get in your pants."

"In that case, I don't trust you."

"What?"

"Why didn't you tell me Haru tried to get in your pants?" she teased.

"That's not what I meant!"

Aang and Ty Lee were on the roof of the palace. It was pretty warm out, and they pinched a blanket from a linen closet along the way to lie down on.

"They're so pretty," she said of the stars as she leaned against his chest.

She smelled so good. Aang leaned forward and kissed her jawline.

"Mmm!"

He kissed her again and again, tasting her sweet skin as he maneuvered on top of her.

He finally kissed her lips and when he did, he wondered how he had gone so long without them. She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him closer. He had grown a lot from when she first saw him. He was taller, his voice deeper and his chest was strong. Her nails raked across his robes, tickling his back.

"I smell smoke," she said in between kisses.

Aang was about to kiss her again when he smelled it too. "FIRE!"

He airbended towards the smoke. When he got to the fire, he bended the smoke out of his face, trying to see where the flames were so he could put them out.

Ty Lee climbed down to the ground and ran for help. She saw the alarm bell and rang it.

The guards came running from all directions trying to get to the alarm bell and secure the palace, which was immediately put on lockdown. The world leaders got shuffled into different rooms.

Zuko was kept in one wing, his sister in another.

"What are they doing?" Katara questioned.

"Splitting up all the heirs."

Sokka was kept in a different place than Hakoda. No one knew who was the target.

When Ty Lee said fire, the guards ran for the waterbenders. "We have a fire!"

Katara went to go help. Azula wanted to join her, but she was kept at a distance.

"It could be a distraction to attack the royal family."

"But I can wield back the flames!"

"The avatar's out there. He can do it."

Azula reluctantly held back.

The barn had been set on fire. Aang forced the flames away from the animals. "Appa?"

The sky bison had escaped his enclosure as it had been set on fire. The smoke was getting to him.

"Get outside." The other animals had scattered. Appa, however, refused to leave his master.

Aang waterbended all of the water he could reach, emptying every trough as he fought the flames.

Katara took water from the stream and sent it at the barn. It was hard to get the water to move this far, but she remembered when she threw Azula into the ocean. If she could get the princess from that far away, she could do this.

As the flames started to die down, Katara moved in closer. "Aang?"

"Katara. Someone set the barn on fire. Appa inhaled too much smoke."

They helped the ill sky bison out of the barn, and Katara immediately worked on healing him. Appa started to kick his feet in frustration. "I know this hurts, but we need to get some air in you. Aang, can you airbend into his lungs, gently."

Aang did as she asked, forcing the smoke out. Appa thrashed. Katara tried to ease his soreness with the water she had left.

"Who would do this?" Aang questioned.

Suddenly something pierced into Katara's shoulder. She collapsed.

"KATARA!" He pulled the dart out of her shoulder. It must have been poisoned.

"You'll always want her, won't you?" It was Hei Won.

"Why would you hurt her?"

"She had you, even when she didn't want you. When you said you let her go, I thought I had a chance. Do you remember that night by the spring?"

It was over three months ago, but Hei Won remembered it perfectly. Aang had been wondering around, wasted, which was the norm for him at the time.

The other girls were started to get concerned with his drinking habits, but none of them had the courage to confront him yet. They had gone to bed early, leaving Aang and Hei Won at the spring. When he sat down next to her, she kissed him. In his drunken state, he didn't care who he was kissing. He just wanted to be wanted.

* * *

You took my virginity. I thought you loved me, but then you called out her name when you came and then you passed out!"

Aang had no idea what she was talking about. "I must have been drunk. I'm so sorry."

"Not as sorry as you're going to be. I set Appa's stall on fire. I wanted you to lose something you loved, so you would know how I hurt, but then she came and saved him. Now, you'll lose her."

Hei Won slit her own throat before Aang could get to her.

Seeing her blood spill on the ground horrified him. He grabbed Katara and ran for the palace. "HELP SHE'S BEEN POISONED!"

Everyone could hear his cries. People ran past their protective guards and into the hall where he put Katara on a table. He tried to heal her with water, but the "poison's moving too quickly into her bloodstream. I don't know what to do."

The doctor had already run to get his tinctures.

Azula came and grabbed Katara's face. She started heatbending, trying to burn the poison out of her. "Don't die on me Tara." Tears filled her eyes as she tried to save the one person she couldn't live without.

The doctor came with his medicine, but "we don't know what she was poisoned with." Some of these antidotes could kill her.

"Hei Won killed herself," Aang told them. "I have no idea what she used. We don't have poison at the temple."

"We could really use a bloodbender right now."

Am old man came forward from the Northern Water Tribe. "I can bloodbend," he said.

Katara and Sokka had the same blood type. They drew blood from his arm and bloodbended it into his sister, while they drew her poisoned blood out. They knew the new blood would get infected too, but they hoped to bring down the concentration of the poison to something she could survive.

The waterbender purified the blood that came out of Katara and sent the newly cleaned blood back in. It was a slow process, which is why they took Sokka's blood and used it first.

"Are you sure that blood is clean?"

"It was a metal-based poison. See, it sank to the bottom." At the bottom of the beaker was whatever Hei Won used to poison Katara. If Hei Won weren't dead, Azula would have killed her after she got her to reveal the poison.

The other acolytes were horrified. She had been their friend, but their friendship was fracturing because of her obsession with Aang.

The Avatar blamed himself. "If I hadn't been so selfish, I would have realized how much help she needed." He didn't see it at all until it was much too late.

As the doctor and the bloodbender worked on Katara, the others could only wait until morning to see if she survived.

Hakoda had left the room. He couldn't watch them play around with Katara's blood like that. He lost his wife because he came too late. Now he was here, but he was still hopeless. He asked the spirits why him? Why couldn't he be enough to keep his family safe?

Chief Arnook came to check on him. He knew the pain of losing a daughter, and he hoped his friend wouldn't ever have to learn it.

"Our daughters are a lot alike. They will always help, no matter how dangerous." Katara knew it was likely some kind of trap. No one would risk breaching the palace security just to kill some barn animals, but she came to help anyway. She just didn't think she would be the target.

"I should have gone with her."

"She got poisoned with a dart to the back. Even if you had been there, you wouldn't have seen it coming with no light."

Hakoda tried to argue, but Arnook continued. "I blamed myself for Yue's death. If I had a stronger group of warriors, if I had gotten some kind of protective shield for the spring, I thought of all kinds of ways I could have tried to save her, but some things are out of our hands, no matter what we do."

Hakoda understood, but he still felt like a failure for not protecting his daughter. If this was out of his hands, he just felt like he should have had bigger hands so he could handle it.

He thought the worst feeling was when he came back and found his wife dead. He was starting to realize that waiting helplessly was even worse.

* * *

Katara woke up to see a face she hadn't seen in over a decade.

"Mom?"

"Yes Honey."

"Am I dead?"

"No. You're in a suspended state of consciousness."

"What?"

"You were poisoned, but your are not dead."

"How (can I be here)?"

Kya didn't tell her. "There were so many things I wanted to teach you, but my time came too early. I always wondered what kind of people you and Sokka would grow up to be. A mother always wants to know that she raised her children to be good people, and I couldn't be more proud of you two.

Aang needed you and you were there. You needed Sokka, and he was there. I know that you both will find your way and when you need a little help, look to the stars and you'll find me."

* * *

Aang went into the spirit world. If Katara was in there, he was going to bring her back.

He didn't see her, but he did see a familiar face.

"Koh," he said coldly.

"My friend Aang. Here for your little girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," Aang refused to show emotion, "and you're bluffing. You don't have Katara."

"I don't," he said with a laugh. "But she isn't who I meant."

He showed Hei Won's face. He had tricked her.

"It was easy to control her. I promised her you would be hers if I gave her a little help. She seduced you that night, not that you remember, but you wouldn't let the waterbender go.

I think it broke her heart, but she carried on. When Katara and Azula's relationship became public knowledge, she figured she might have a second shot at getting you, but then Ty Lee came and stole you in a flash. I think it was too much for her. She lost it."

"You did this on purpose?"

"I just wanted a face. I wasn't too picky about whose I got. The waterbender's would have been a nice touch, but Hei Won's would do just as nicely."

"Give her back."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you would rather have a chance at getting mine."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm challenging you to a battle of wits. If I win, you give Hei Won back, and free her of whatever you did to her. You win, you get me."

Koh laughed. "Oh this is too good to pass up, my friend."

"I am not your friend."

"Oh but you will be."

Koh thought of all of his faces as his friends. If they could decide for themselves, they would likely disagree.

* * *

Ty Lee guarded Aang's body while he went into the spirit world. This was so unfair. Everyone was having fun, and now this. The avatar's job truly never ends.

Mai came to check on Ty Lee. "Where did he?"

"He went to see if Katara was in the spirit world, and if so, to bring her back."

"Want some company?"

"Sure."

This was really awkward. What do you say to a girl whose boyfriend is trying to rescue his ex-girlfriend who got poisoned by another girl who was obsessed with him?

"Is it wrong to say I'm glad Hei Won's dead?" If she was this mad over Katara, she might have tried to kill Ty Lee too.

"It's probably better for her that she is. Azula only would have tortured her to learn the type of poison she used."

Mai's eyes got large. "There is that."

"How is she?"

"I've never seen her like this." No one has. Her mental breakdown was one thing, but she was literally in pieces right now. For a girl who always wears a confident face, she was breaking like a vase that got hit with a mallet.

"She's not alone is she?"

"No, Zuko's with her."

* * *

"I can't lose her," Azula cried as her brother held her.

"I know." He couldn't say she'd get better. What if he was wrong?

"I told her I loved her tonight."

What?

"She said I never said it before. I should have said it every day."

"I'm sorry."

"When are you going to marry Mai?"

"Do you really want to talk about that now?"

"Stop putting it off! What if you run out of time? What if I'm already out?"

Zuko didn't really have an excuse. It has been four years. "I promise, I will marry her next summer, but if Katara wakes up, you don't put it off either."

"I won't."

Zuko knew that Azula and Katara were happy together, but he didn't realize until tonight, how much Azula loved her. She had a way of shielding her emotions, presenting herself as cool or in control. Before the war ended, he would have assumed that Azula was incapable of falling in love. As selfish as it sounded, he needed Katara to live. He didn't know what Azula would do if she didn't.

* * *

Sokka watched his sister in the hospice. He was only 10 when their mother died, but he wished he had been older, so he could have tried to save her. Now, he's 20, and his sister is lying helpless in a bed.

_What did his family do to deserve this?_

Suki took his hand. "This isn't your fault."

"How did you?"

"I know you. You did everything you could."

"How could this even happen?"

"I don't know." She really had no idea how Hei Won could be so crazy. How could no one have known? Sure she had an unrequited crush, but who didn't at one point? No one else here had turned to murder to resolve it.

"But I do know how strong your sister is. She's a fighter. She'll make it. She has to."

Iroh sat in the corner of his room. Katara has been put in the hospice. Her family was trying to get sleep. Hakoda and Sokka took shifts, so someone would always be with her in case her status changed.

He couldn't believe that the girl hysterically crying was his niece. He didn't know what had possessed her to start dating Katara. He didn't think the girl was capable of falling in love. She had always been so cold and so calculating. He had trouble reconciling the girl who had been in front of him with the niece who had always made him uneasy.

He knew the pain of losing a wife. He knew the pain of losing a son. He knew how Azula and Hakoda were both feeling right now, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to either of them. Iroh's way of moving on had been to suppress his pain. Even though he understood what they had been going through, he didn't know how to talk to them without being overwhelmed by his own losses. His medicine made it easy for him to forget, so that's what he did. He took out his pipe and started to smoke.

His inner demons started to float away as the opium coursed his veins. Happy memories started to replace the ones that had filled his mind when Aang carried a limp Katara into the palace.

When Iroh's wife died, he didn't realize how sick she was. She had just had Lu Ten, and the doctor said women often got sick after childbirth. He thought it was just a cold, but when he woke up, she was dead.

He had to raise Lu Ten alone. At first, he thought it would be impossible. He was in the military. He had a responsibility to the country, to his father, but Lu Ten became his greatest joy. When he took his son with him to Ba Sing Se, he thought they'd share his greatest honor, but instead he lost his son. He had forgotten that his boy was more important than any honor he could have received, and because of it, he's dead.

He could have saved his wife if he had known. He should have protected his son, but he had forgotten. He didn't talk about them because it was too painful. Instead, he stayed in his room and held on to the happy memories he had when they were alive, choosing to forget what happened after.

* * *

Koh had three chances to stump the Avatar.

"I'm thinking of something that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three legs in the evening."

"Man. I'm not 12 anymore."

Koh hissed. "The next one will be harder." Koh thought for a minute. "What is black when you get it, red when you use it and white when you're through with it?"

This one took Aang longer to figure out, as he hadn't heard it before.

If it goes from red to white, it sounds like it burns and turns to ash. "Charcoal."

Koh purposefully chose two easy ones to start, hoping the Avatar would be overconfident.

He told him the last one.

"What does man love more than life,

Fear more than death or mortal strife

What the poor have, the rich require,

and what contented men desire,

What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves

And all men carry to their graves?"

Aang didn't answer. Koh waited for five minutes before declaring Aang was stumped.


	12. Chapter 12

For some reason, the spirit world always feels cold when Aang is in it. He wonders if it's because he's not yet dead.

"I wasn't stumped," he told Koh quickly

"Yes you were; you didn't answer."

"The answer was nothing, so I said nothing."

Suddenly, all of Koh's faces turned angry as spirit stared down his opponent.

* * *

Azula came to check on Katara in the morning. She hadn't slept. She couldn't close her eyes without seeing her lover's face.

"The color's come back to her skin," The doctor said to her. "It's a good sign."

Azula took her hand. "I love you more than I ever thought possible. I know I never said it out loud, but if I could go back, I'd say it every day."

Hakoda had gone to the bathroom. When he came back, he decided to give them a moment.

"When you wake up, I have something I want to ask you." Azula left a chaste kiss on her lips. She was about to leave when Katara opened her eyes.

"Is this real life?" she mumbled.

Azula quickly spun around. "You're awake."

"I am, but I'm really tired and my arms hurt."

"They had to give you your brother's blood since you were poisoned. They drew out the bad blood on your other arm."

Azula sat down next to her. "You gave us all a fright."

"I thought you weren't scared of anything."

"I guess I was wrong."

Katara took her hand. "I love you. I would have said it last night, but …"

They heard a throat clearing. "Dad?"

"You're awake." He kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted."

"I think that goes for all of us."

The doctor said he'd make the announcement.

"I saw Mom."

"What?"

"She was there, wherever I was. She doesn't want you to be afraid to love someone new."

"I couldn't…."

"It's been 10 years Dad."

Azula realized it had been ten years since she had seen her mother. She knew Zuko was looking, but Azula figured Ursa was probably dead. She didn't want to tell her brother that, so she said nothing.

"I still miss her every day."

"Me too."

Suki woke up Sokka. "You're sister's awake."

Sokka stumbled to put on pants as he ran down to the hospice. He didn't put on shoes or a shirt, and his hair was a mess.

"Is this a new look?" Azula teased. He looked like he had fled his lover's house because her husband came home early.

Katara snickered and then she frowned. "It hurts to laugh."

"And they say laughter is the best medicine," Sokka teased. He had a bandage on his arm from the blood they drew.

"You saved me."

"I did what any brother would do."

"Mine wouldn't," Azula said quickly. "He's terrified of needles."

"Oh stop," Katara chided.

"Seriously. He'd throw up first and then faint and then, well I guess they could take his blood while he's unconscious."

The doctor came to ask how Katara was doing. It was then she realized, "wait who poisoned me?"

The doctor and Azula explained how Hei Won had set the fire to get revenge against Aang. "When you and Aang came to rescue the animals, she threw a poisoned dart into your shoulder and then she committed suicide before Aang could find out what she had used."

"She's dead?" Katara's voice sounded weak.

Azula nodded. "When Aang came running with you in his arms, he said she was already gone." Azula didn't tell Katara that the girl had slit her own throat. Who needs that mental image?

The waterbender's hand clutched her lover's tightly.

"I'm not going anywhere," Azula promised.

* * *

Well-wishers came by all morning, three at a time as to not overwhelm her.

"Where's Aang?" Katara questioned.

"He went to the spirit world to look for you," Mai told her.

"Is someone going to tell him I'm not there?" He could be searching a long time.

Mai shrugged. "I have no idea how big it is. Hopefully, he'll figure it out."

When Mai studied her face, she could tell Katara had changed. One would expect that after facing a near-death experience due to a

Later that day, Ty Lee came to see her. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better. Is Aang in this world again?"

"Yes, but he said he had to do something. He ran off, and I don't know where."

* * *

Koh had reneged on his word. Each of his faces attached to some type of demon spirit and attacked the avatar.

He tried to send an air blast at them, only to recall that he was without his bending. He started to run, but he wasn't quick enough, and they grabbed him. He wished that someone would save him and out of no where, Roku appeared and started fighting the spirits.

"How?" Aang stammered

"You're the Avatar. You can wish for something to happen here, and it will (within reason)."

"What?"

"We'll chat later. Get Hei Won!"

Aang was able to twist and turn past the attacking spirits and grab Hei Won. He took her spirit with him and escaped back to the physical world.

With her spirit in hand, he just needed to repair her body so he could put her back inside.

He snuck into the ward for the dead and took her corpse.

"What are you doing?" the guards asked him.

"I'm bringing her back to life."

The avatar can do that?

Aang went into the Avatar State and brought her back.

She was alive again, but unconscious. Apparently, dying takes a lot out of you.

He carried her to the hospice.

"How did you?" the doctor questioned. The girl had been dead, but now she's not.

"It's a long story."

They put her in a room far away from Katara and had it guarded.

* * *

Aang finally went to see his friend. It was evening by this time.

"I guess that was some kind of party," he joked.

Katara shook her head. "The world coming together to celebrate peace. Love triangles, arson, attempted murder, suicide, it all fits in."

"She was possessed by Koh."

"What?"

"He promised her that she could have me, so she let Koh possess her."

"Why would he?"

"He wanted your face. When he couldn't get it, he stole hers."

Katara gulped. "What did you do?"

"I challenged him to a battle of wits and when I won, I brought her back. She's still unconscious, and I don't know if she remembers what she did."

"For her sake, I hope she doesn't."

"Hope who doesn't what?" Azula asked. She came into the room with a box.

"Hei Won got possessed by Koh," Katara told her. "It's why she attacked me."

"Who's Koh?"

"The face stealer," Aang told her. "He wanted Katara's face."

"Well he can't have it!" Azula snapped.

Katara laughed at her before clutching her stomach. Damn that hurt!

"Well, I don't know anything about face stealing spirits and possession, but I do know that I don't want to spend another minute without you."

Azula got down on one knee. "Will you be my consort?"

She held a small ring with a diamond in the middle and two rubies, one on each side.

Katara answered her with a kiss. "That's a yes," she finally said.

Azula slipped the ring on her finger.

Aang congratulated both of them. "I'll give you two a minute."

He left and when he went outside to check on Appa, he saw Sokka, Zuko and Suki all pressed up against the window, trying to watch.

"You think they would have learned their lesson," Mai said dryly.

Aang blushed. "Well, Sokka did always need to learn things a few times."

"Aw, they're kissing," Suki said.

"I hope that's all they're doing," Zuko added.

"My sister's going to be a princess," Sokka bragged. "Wait, what does that make me?"

"A monkey's uncle?" Zuko offered.

Aang went to check on Appa. The sky bison was resting in the grass.

"Hey buddy."

The sky bison stirred his feet.

Appa had stuck by him for so long. He got frozen for 100 years because of him. Aang was furious when he realized all his people were gone, but all of the sky bison Appa loved were gone too. He hadn't even thought about it.

"I wish I could find you a mate," he said.

"Maybe you can," a stable boy offered. "There are rumored to be wild sky bison in the edge of old Earth Kingdom, where the new country is."

"United Republic?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen them myself, but some travellers my dad knows say they saw them there."

It was near the Western Air Temple and the Northern Air Temple. "If the sky bison fled the Fire Nation, they could have made it there." Were there more airbenders? Were they hiding there all along?

"What's your name?"

"Kirin."

Aang gave the boy some coins. "Thanks Kirin."

Appa mumbled.

"We should go looking."

Appa stirred his feet faster.

They still had plenty of booze from the night before and they never had gotten a chance to serve the comet cake.

That evening Zuko declared, "Party on!" and people came back to eat cake and drink. Some had formal attire to wear, but many brought only one outfit, and it was already dirty, so people came in all kinds of dress.

"I never did get a chance to dance with you," Aang said as he found Ty Lee.

She took his hand and they went to the dance floor.

"Zuko," Sokka teased. "When are you gonna pop the question?"

"What about you?" Mai retorted.

"Yeah," Suki added.

"Uh oh!" Sokka ran off.

"Little weasel!"

"I will propose when you least expect it," Zuko told Mai.

"Don't do it during sex."

"I wouldn't do that."

"Sokka would," Suki lamented.

Mai pat her head.

Hakoda congratulated his daughter. "I can't believe you're all grown up now. Soon you'll be married with kids running around and …."

"Slow your roll!" she chided. "We haven't even set a date yet."

"When your Gran Gran hears, she'll be all over this."

"Oh I know. Why doesn't she go bother Sokka? He's had four years."

"She reminds him every time she sees him. Suki won't wait forever. If you don't put a ring on it, she'll be gone."

Katara laughed. Four years ago, she never thought she'd be wearing this ring. "Life's just full of surprises."

"Well, I'm all for the good surprises."

"Glad to hear you ain't dead Sugar Queen."

"Hi Toph," Katara hugged her.

"Your boobs are smothering me!"

"Sorry."

"What's that on your hand?" Toph felt a ring.

"Azula proposed."

"Already! I'm always behind. It takes me forever to finally get a boyfriend, and you're already engaged. UGH! Next thing I know, Sparky will propose and Snoozles and Twinkle Toes, and before I get to the alter, y'all will have little rugrats."

Katara laughed at her. "I'm not rushing into parenthood."

"Well if our friends talk about marriage, try to talk them out of it!"

"Shucks! I was going to propose to Ty Lee at midnight," Aang teased.

"TWINKLE TOES!"

He ran off while Toph chased him.

"They're so silly," Ty Lee said.

"Yeah they are."

Toph was throwing things at the sound of Aang's voice as he ran around the room. Zuko tried to calm them down, but Toph only threw a projectile at him, causing him to respond with fire, and they got in a bending battle in the middle of the party.

"To think he's a sovereign," Azula said smugly as she sipped on her wine.

Mai shook her head. "Well, hopefully he doesn't set anyone ablaze at the end of the war party."

"That would be pretty epic."

Suddenly a fireball soared past the Head Sage's head when he went to get some whiskey.

"I'll put you all on time out," he threatened as he began chasing them around.

"Oh this is priceless," Azula laughed.

After the feuding was done, it was time to sit around and drink. Team Avatar took over one of the lounges and they went over what all happened over the past 24 hours.

"So Hei Won let Koh possess her, so she could have Twinkle Toes?" Toph questioned. "What made her think that was a good idea?"

"I doubt she knew very much about Koh," Aang said. "She heard she could magically have what she wanted and figured any price to pay was worth it."

"But how do we know what was her and what was Koh?" Sokka questioned. "Was she in a trance? Was he whispering bad ideas that she chose to go along with?"

Aang shrugged. "I won't know until she wakes up, and even then, she might lie if she thinks she's going to jail."

"I don't care where she goes, but if she goes near Katara again she's going to get it," Azula declared, protectively.

"Maybe you should send her to Dr. Sing," Ty Lee suggested.

"Is spirit possession something he can handle?" Aang wondered.

"Probably not," Mai said, "but she must have had underlying mental problems to agree to such a deal."

The conversation changed course.

"I couldn't sleep without you," Azula admitted.

"You were too worried about me."

"Yeah, and I don't think I can sleep without your snoring."

"I do NOT snore!" Katara insisted.

"Yeah you do," said Aang, Sokka, and Toph at once.

Katara pouted.

Azula kissed her cheek.

"I don't snore," Ty Lee asserted.

"Yeah but you kick," Azula retorted.

"I kicked you one time."

"You kicked me out the bed, literally. I woke up on the floor!"

Ty Lee laughed. "In my dream, you were a ball."

"You might need a protective shell, Aang," Azula teased.

"I hope the temple walls are thick," Mai sighed.

Ty Lee blushed. "I'm not that loud."

"I thought you were being murdered," Zuko retorted, when she was having sex in her quarters once.

"He ran in to rescue her," Mai snickered.

"Apparently, I don't do heroics too well."

"You always were bad at being good," Azula told him.

He frowned.

"I'm just good at being bad."

Katara kissed her. "Yeah you are."

"Speaking of bad," her hand started moving up Katara's thigh.

Katara shoved it away. "We have company!"

"So!"

"OOGIES!" Sokka whined.

"At least I didn't give you an eyeful, Mr. going at it in the garden," Katara accused.

Suki blushed.

"The mood overtook me."

"It wasn't even your garden."

He shrugged.

"My mother planted that garden," Zuko scolded.

"Who hasn't fucked in that garden?" Ty Lee questioned.

Everyone looked at her.

"Oops!"

"That garden makes me sneeze," Azula insisted.

"You never did well with tall grass," Mai told her.

"I prefer a different kind of grass."

"How do you keep getting that prescription refilled?" Zuko questioned.

"What are you going to do? Stage an intervention."

Everyone groaned.

"Too soon?"

Toph could feel anxiety in the room. "What am I missing?" she questioned.

"Did we not tell you about the intervention?" Azula asked her.

"No I know about it, but Twinkle Toes, Bodyguard, Snoozles and Sparky look all ready to run out the room screaming."

"You can't see us," Sokka accused.

"No, but I can feel your heartbeat through the floor. Out with it."

Suki looked at Sokka who looked at Zuko who looked at Aang.

"Um … well you see …" He ran out the room.

Mai burst out laughing.

"What is wrong with him?" Toph wanted to know.

"I'll tell you," Mai said happily.

"Oh no," Suki started chugging her whiskey.

"You see, when Katara didn't answer her door, Aang just used her spare key to get in, and well, Azula and Katara were doing in on the kitchen table."

Katara was livid. "You all just walked into my APARTMENT!"

"We didn't know!" Sokka insisted. "He just had this key, and then the door was open, and I was traumatized! I was a victim!"

"I'll show you victim."

She started chasing him around throwing water at him that she pulled from her water skin.

"Why did you do that?" Suki questioned.

"Because it's hilarious!"

Zuko refused to make eye contact with his sister or anyone else.

Toph was cracking up. "Sugar Queen on the table."

"I like tables," Azula said.

"You always did have a thing for wood," Ty Lee said.

"I thought you were gay," Toph retorted.

"She meant oaks and cherry wood."

"Haha, cherry wood!" Ty Lee laughed.

"You're such a tramp!"

Aang came back. "Is it safe?"

"Sugar Queen ain't here."

He sighed in relief, but his relief was short lived. Sokka ran back into the room. "Protect me!" he hid behind Aang.

"Oh you're gonna get it!"

Aang airbended away.

Sokka jumped on his back, and Katara chased both of them.

"I guess she's back to her normal self," Mai commented.

"Maybe we can have sex tonight," Azula said happily.

"My poor eyes!" Zuko lamented.

"How come we never have sex on the table?" Mai questioned.

Azula laughed loudly.

"Why?"

"Maybe it would be fun. We could use more variety."

"Can we not talk about this now?" In front of our friends, and my sister.

"Oh now's a great time."

"Maybe I can give you some tips," Azula teased.

"SHUT UP!"

"Girls tend to like it when you …."

He got up and ran out the room.

Azula laughed raucously. "I was just going to say give them chocolate."

"What kind of sex advice is that?" Suki wondered.

"You can do a lot with chocolate," Ty Lee said happily. "I wonder if the kitchen has any syrup."

"The servants are going to think you pooped the bed," Azula warned. "That's what they thought when I brought chocolate syrup into our bedroom."

Mai clutched her stomach she was laughing so hard.

"They sent the royal doctor to see if I was ill."

Even Suki had to laugh at that.

"I wish I had been there for that conversation," Mai told her.

Eventually, Katara was tired of beating them up, and she came back to her lover.

"Shall we go to bed?"

Katara nodded.

Azula scooped her up. "Goodnight everyone."

Aang waited until he saw the lovers pass by before he returned to the lounge.

"Her ice daggers hurt."

"At least you could bend some of them away," Sokka complained. "I didn't have my sword."

"What happened to Zuko?"

"Azula traumatized him," Suki told them.

"Isn't that normal?" Aang questioned. He yawned.

"Let's go to bed," Ty Lee said.

"Don't rescue them," Sokka warned.

"To sleep!"

"Sure," he said dryly.

* * *

Once Haru had sufficient whiskey and cigar time with his father, he came back for Toph. "Did you have fun with your posse?"

"Yeah. I think the party's winding down."

They stayed for a little bit before heading out.

Suki and Sokka went upstairs and Mai went to bed.

"I never ever ever want sex advice from my sister.'

"But she told me how to …"

"AHHHH not listening!"

"I was just teasing." Mai rolled on top of him. "I know how to please you."

"Do you now?" He waved off the lights.

They sank beneath the sheets.

Azula gave Katara a back rub before bed.

"I love you."

"You love my hands."

"I love you more."

"Really?"

"No."

"Jerk!"

Katara pulled Azula into a kiss. "We should spend tomorrow night making up for what could have been last night."

"Oh yes my Princess."

Azula turned off the lights with a wave of her finger.

The next morning, Hei Won woke up. She insisted that she didn't remember anything since May when Koh possessed her, but Azula sensed some deception when she was explaining what happened. She seemed to recall at least some of the events they outlined to her.

"We're going to take you to Ba Sing Se," Aang told her. "There's a psychiatrist there who …"

"I WILL NOT GO TO THE LOONY BIN! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"

"Listen here you crusty little wench, you're lucky I haven't hauled you off to the gallows for attacking the palace and almost murdering my consort, so you will go with Aang, and you will accept whatever help Dr. Sing can offer you, or I will make you regret the day you were born, much less the day you decided to let a sociopathic spirit possess you," Azula's eyes were full of rage, and it took every bit of restraint she had not to flambé her on the spot.

Hei Won trembled. She was going to rehab. She had to get away from here.

Appa refused to fly Hei Won. She had almost killed him just two days before.

"I know she hurt you, but Koh possessed her, and she needs help."

Appa frowned, but he flew them anyway. Ty Lee offered to go, but Aang said he could protect himself. He was more worried about Ty Lee's safety if she came with them. Hei Won was clearly still unstable.

They sedated her for the flight and the avatar went off to the Earth Kingdom capital. Hopefully, Dr. Sing could squeeze her in.

It took Aang two days of travel to get to Ba Sing Se. He had flown from there to the Fire Nation Palace in one day before but given Appa's ordeal, he didn't want the trip to be too taxing.

They stayed in Makapu Village for the night, which also gave Aang a chance to ask the locals about the sky bison.

"You gotta go west for them. They tend to be away from the villages, so you have to camp out if you want to find them. They're people shy, but if you go with Appa, you'll have better luck."

When Hei Won woke up, she realized she was in an inn room with the Avatar. Was Koh right? Did she finally have her love?

"Go back to sleep," Aang muttered.

He was on the couch, leaving her in the bed.

"Why aren't you in bed with me?"

Is she crazy? "That would be inappropriate."

"But we've already had sex."

So she does remember that, Aang realized. "But I was too drunk."

"You want our next time to be special."

She thinks we're together? Maybe it will make it easier to get her there. "Yes. I think we should wait until I deserve you."

"You're sweet!"

Aang felt bad about deceiving her, but she needed serious help, and he wasn't sure if he could get her to cooperate otherwise.

They left the next morning and Aang explained to the doctor, privately, why he had brought Hei Won there.

"I never had a case like this," he admitted.

"No one has, but they say you're the prodigy. I think your best judgment is the best shot we have."

He understood. "We have a resort where our most troubled patients can live. It's not an asylum per se. She would have her own furnished bedroom instead of a cell. There's a swimming pool, etc, but it is guarded and there are strict rules. No drinking or drugs (outside prescribed medication) is allowed.

She would have group therapy twice a week and individual therapy 5-7 times a week depending on how she responds."

"Would she be given cannabis in her treatment?" It sounded really risky given her condition.

Dr. Sing shook her head. "It doesn't sound like she has PTSD, and even if she did, in some patients, cannabis can trigger psychosis, and since I have no idea what residual damage there is from Koh, I wouldn't try any medication to start. I'll likely need a neurologist to come in from Republic City before I know what would be safe for her."

"How much does this cost?"

"It's free for all Earth Kingdom nationals. It's financed by the government." It was actually cheaper to close the asylum and move the more stable patients into out patient care and build this home for the most troubled.

He explained one more thing. "She thinks that she is my girlfriend. Koh promised her that she could have me and now she thinks we're a couple. I didn't correct her because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get her here."

"She'll freak out when she realizes that, but we'll get her situated and stable as best we can."

Aang explained to Hei Won that Koh had made her sick, and Dr. Sing was going to make her better.

He asked her some routine questions and then they took her to her new home.

"You have to stop here," Dr. Sing told Aang. "We only let visitors in on special days."

He nodded. "Good luck Hei Won."

"Where are you going?"

The guards took her in. She screamed when she realized he wasn't going to stay.

"KOH PROMISED! YOU SAID YOU'D WAIT FOR ME!"

He turned away as she started to cry. He felt terrible for her, but this was so unhealthy. She had to learn to let him go.

On the way back home, he wondered if he could have turned into this. Had he been so desperate for Katara that Koh could have tricked him? He harrowed at the thought. If he ever made Katara feel as afraid as he was right now, he was so sorry.


	13. Chapter 13

**October 104AG**

I hate the snow, Azula decided after being in the tribe for three weeks now. Well actually, she hated it after about 5 seconds of being in the tribe, but now she was absolutely sure. They had waited to make sure Katara was 100% before going on a voyage to her homeland.

Azula knew she would be lovesick without her, so she came but seriously, she hated the snow. It's cold. It gets you wet. It gets into Azula's boots, no matter how tightly she laces them. They get her socks wet and then they stick to her feet and make her feet skin all wrinkly. It must have been penance given to the tribes for some prior bad conduct.

Katara would help guide the ships with Pakku for the whale hunt. Azula would often spend her day with Gran Gran, helping the elder around the house. She could instantly heat and dry things, which was still amazing to the woman. Azula wondered how she spent her whole life in the cold. Her heatbending was the only thing keeping her able to feel her bones.

Given the short days and the long nights, Azula's firebending felt week. Katara's waterbending was strong. This put Azula at a disadvantage when they'd get into tiffs and Katara loved to remind her.

"Stop attacking me with your witchcraft," Azula complained after their last snowball fight.

Katara cackled. "You're just bitter that the sun doesn't come here."

"Clearly, Agni has forsaken your people."

"Or maybe Tui had forsaken yours."

"I don't get how people survive this weather."

"Not everyone likes prancing in her bikini at the beach."

"I do not prance."

"Sure you don't." Katara pulled her close.

"You're cold!"

"I'm always cold."

"But it's cold here."

"Aw does poor baby Azula need her blanket to stay warm."

"She needs a new fiancée!"

"Don't joke about that." Azula could have married anyone.

"I'd never leave you."

"I know. I still get jealous."

"Because of Uma? I'm not interested in her." One of the women in the tribe had taken a special interest in Azula. Katara hated it.

"She's always looking at you with those eyes."

"I haven't noticed. I only have eyes for you." Azula kissed her. The firebender started to get her hands up Katara's shirt when they heard a voice.

"Is this a bad time?" It was Uma.

"What do you think?" Katara snarled.

Azula giggled. "Someone's not happy that we got interrupted," she teased. She kissed Katara on the nose.

"I just wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight. I'm making my specialty stew."

"Sure," Azula said. "I'll bring my special dessert."

"I can't wait."

Katara frowned. "Your special dessert?"

"I brought this special butter."

"What makes it special?"

Azula only grinned.

"You're terrible."

"Oh I know."

* * *

Azula made fire flakes, and they brought them over to Uma's for dinner.

"What did you bring over?" Uma asked with a smile.

"Fire Flakes."

"I'm sure they're delicious."

"I think so."

If looks could kill, Katara would have been arrested for murder.

"Hi Katara," she said with a fake smile.

"Hi Uma. Thank you for having us."

"Anytime," her eyes lingered on Azula.

They sat down for dinner.

Uma poured some sea prune vodka on the rocks. "I thought since it's just us girls, we could loosen up."

Azula concurred.

Under the table, she started teasing Katara's thigh with her fingertips.

"You're going to make me drop my stew."

"I can't help it. You're too beautiful." Azula kissed her.

Uma cleared her throat.

"Forgive me. I struggle with restraint sometimes."

"Don't mind me. It's just been a while."

"I wonder why," Katara muttered.

"You're so jealous," Azula whispered in her ear. Now the tribe was starting to get interesting.

The stew was actually pretty good. It had sea prunes and whale, which was normal, but there was something else in there.

"What is in this?" Azula asked her.

"Whale, sea prune, tiger seal belly and a secret ingredient."

"Too secret for a Princess?"

"Too secret for a Princess."

"Then I guess my fire flake recipe will have to stay secret too."

"Maybe I can figure it out. I have a great palate." Uma winked at Azula.

Katara was so mad.

Azula went right back to teasing her thigh. She went even higher this time, making the waterbender squirm. "Did you know Katara managed to grab me with a water whip while I was on the beach and throw me into the ocean?"

"I did not," Uma said. "That doesn't sound very nice."

"Oh I deserved it," Azula said proudly. "I also think it's when I started to develop a crush on her," although she didn't admit it to herself for several months.

"You never told me that," Katara said to her.

"At the time, I didn't think I had a chance, and when I did, it had seemed so long ago." Azula pecked her. "I knew I had met my match. Her waterbending is truly second to none."

"I'm not surprised. Hakoda talks about her all the time."

"Really?" Katara didn't know that either.

"It's all I heard since he came back. My dad keeps giving me these glares like why couldn't you have been a waterbender too. He's very competitive."

"Well I'm sure you have talents in other arenas."

"None that my dad cares about. He keeps trying to marry me off."

"The men aren't to your liking?"

"I don't like men. I told him, but he told me it was just a phase. How would he know?"

"Well my father's in jail, so he can't tell me what to do."

"Maybe I'll put my dad in jail," Uma retorted.

"I thought the tribe didn't have a jail," Azula said.

"It doesn't. Katara, can you waterbend a one person cell?"

"I could, but if anyone's going to jail, it's this miscreant here," she said of her fiancée.

"You'd lock me up?"

"I'd have you all to myself."

"You get jealous so easily."

"I would be too if I had you," Uma admitted.

They went on to dessert.

"Let me try and guess," Uma said as she took a bike. "Flour, cinnamon, butter, sugar, salt, something I have never had before."

"You got most of it down."

"This is a delightful little treat. It's fluffy on the inside, crisp on the outside and it has a strong flavor but it isn't overbearing."

"It's best when it's just been made, but I was able to keep it warm."

"How are you adapting to the climate here?"

"I think it's a punishment for some sin that I don't remember."

Katara shook her head. "I never fuss about being in the heat."

"You can just go swimming. I can't just bring the sun here. If only there were a hot spring."

"There is," Uma told her.

"What?" Katara didn't know about it.

"I found it when I ran away from home once. It's behind the tribe, so you'd want to get a sled to reach it, but I can show you on a map."

She put an X where she had found the hot spring.

"I wonder how it stays hot," Katara said.

"There must be a sea vent or something beneath the ice. Can we check it out?"

"Now?"

"I meant tomorrow, but now sounds better."

"We can steal my dad's sled dogs," Uma offered.

Katara looked at her.

"I meant borrow of course."

They "borrowed" the sled dogs and headed out for the spring.

Halfway there, Katara realized they hadn't brought bathing suits.

When they got there, Katara asked Azula what she planned on wearing. "We're all girls here." She just got naked and jumped in the spring. "Oh this feels AMAZING!"

Uma didn't hide that she liked the show.

Katara pouted.

"Aren't you going to join me?" Azula murmured.

Katara folded her arms.

"Well if you won't, I will!" Uma got naked and jumped in the spring too.

Not wanting to leave them alone, Katara joined them.

Azula kissed her hard on the mouth. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"And I love how easily you get jealous."

"I don't want other people seeing you," especially those who find her attractive.

"But you're the only one who gets to touch."

And touch they did. The weed was getting to Uma. The stars in the sky distracted her while Azula and Katara made out in the spring. Azula put her leg between Katara's and they started to grind against each other.

"Can you be quiet?" Azula asked her lover.

Katara bit Azula's shoulder as they got off from the friction between them.

Eventually, Uma noticed their affection. Damn that was hot.

They got dressed and headed back to the tribe. Azula fell asleep on the way.

"You're so lucky," Uma told her.

"I know."

"I had to admit I was so jealous of you when you came here with her." Azula's gorgeous, a princess, and Katara's father accepted her.

"Azula is a special girl."

"It's more than that. Your family accepts your life with her. They're proud of who you are. I wanted that, and I might have been over the top with my flirting with Azula."

"Might have been?"

"Okay, I was a bit of a ho, but can you blame me?"

"No, I can't."

The tension was broken. Uma finally asked, "What in Tui's name did she put in that dessert?"

"I take it you've never had cannabis before."

"That little scamp!"

* * *

The following week, Katara asked Azula to be her betrothed. She had made a red necklace for her with the water tribe symbol engraved on the back, showing that their union was one between two nations.

Azula was proud to wear it. Now they both had a symbol of their impending nuptials. She didn't think much else of the necklace until she saw the men working on some kind of building.

"What are they doing?"

"Getting the hall ready," One of the women said.

"For the wedding."

"Who's getting married?"

It wasn't until Sokka and Suki (and most of the warriors) came to the tribe that Azula learned that the renovations were for her wedding.

"We wanted to start sooner, but we had to get enough food for the winter first," Bato said as they rushed to finish the building.

While the men were working outside, the women were working on the wedding attire, decorations and putting the feast together.

When Azula got to Kanna's door, she was expecting a normal day, not to be measured for her wedding outfit.

"The pants are too long," Kanna commented as she marked where they would need to be cut.

The top is too small," another said as they measured her bust.

"What?"

They had her try on various garments and eventually they had her ensemble figured out.

Uma was measuring Katara for her dress.

"Too tight," she complained.

"Pain is the price we pay for beauty."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Maybe a little."

"Asshole!"

"Is that language fit for a princess?" Azula teased.

Katara flipped her off.

Azula thought all she'd have to do is show up, but Suki disagreed. She handed Azula a bag of decorations. "You get to help us get this hall looking nice."

"Goodie!"

They put up the banners and the torches. The tables all got polished and arranged. The chairs got put in their proper places.

Azula was tired. This is what servants were for, isn't it?

At the end of the day, she was ready to go to Katara's home when she got steered away.

"Your wedding is tomorrow," Kanna told her.

"I know."

"You can't share a bed with the bride."

"Aw!"

She got to stay on Hakoda's couch for the night.

At least she wouldn't have to hear him having sex.

A fur ball came flying through the early morning sky.

Aang came with Ty Lee and an arch for the wedding. The acrobat had decorated it with flowers from the temple.

She was so excited. When they were children, Azula swore she was never getting married, and now she'd be married first. Zuko and Mai were finally engaged and would marry next summer. She and Aang just got started and she did not mind waiting a while to be married, but this was all so much fun!

Aang helped get the arch in place. They would marry outside and then go to the feast inside the hall.

Ty Lee went to see if Katara needed any help getting ready.

The warriors were on it.

"Make sure Azula's functional," Kanna told her.

The firebender had gotten drunk with Hakoda and Sokka the night before and they went sled dog racing. Unfortunately for them, she had rather loose lips when she was inebriated.

"Princess Drunkard is on the couch," Sokka told her.

"My head hurts."

Ty Lee started to give her a massage. "Come on. We gotta get you up and ready for your wedding."

After some special tea, Azula was able to get a move on.

She had on leather pants, a blouse, and over that a full-length fur coat, a traditional outer garment for a groom in the water tribes.

"You look dapper."

"Is that good?"

Ty Lee laughed as she used her makeup skills to hide Azula's hangover.

Katara was in a gorgeous white dress. Her hair was down and she had a veil over her face.

Hakoda was in his Chieftain's coat, ready to give his daughter away.

"You look gorgeous," he told her as she hugged him.

"I'm ready."

Azula was already waiting at the arch. Pakku was there to marry them and Azula pinned back Katara's veil when she got to the front. The entire tribe was there for the special moment.

After Pakku's introduction they exchanged rings and vows.

"I never thought I would get the chance to marry for love," Azula admitted. "I assumed I would marry for politics. I've never been so happy to be wrong. I'll gladly admit to being wrong about everything, as long as I get to have you by my side."

Katara went next. "You always seem to know what I need, even if I'm too tired to speak or too weary to ask you for anything. I always thought sayings like 'you complete me' or 'you know me better than I know myself' were cheesy and ridiculous and then I met you. They may be cheesy and ridiculous, but they can also be true, and I am more complete, now that you're with me."

"I now pronounce you married." It took them forever to decide what should replace husband and wife.

Katara pulled Azula into a kiss in front of a cheering crowd.

They walked hand in hand down the aisle and to the hall.

It was gorgeous inside, with the torches lighting the room.

Music started to play. Bato formed a band for the special day and he was playing the drums.

The women started serving the food. Sokka wondered why they couldn't serve themselves.

"Because you'd eat all the meat," Katara teased him.

"Not all of it," just a whole lot.

They sat at the head table where various people came to wish the new couple luck.

Aang asked Ty Lee why was Azula all alone. Her family hadn't come. "Zuko and Mai had to work." They sent a present. She wasn't sure why Iroh wasn't there. He was invited, wasn't he?

The Prince was at his teashop in Ba Sing Se. He had received a letter from one of the tribeswomen and maybe he should have gone, but he didn't see himself fitting in there and not because of the people.

He and Azula had never been close. He didn't see it changing now, even if she had changed. He thought that some things were best left in the past.

If Azula missed her family, she didn't show it. Instead she happily chatted with the other guests and when it was time to dance, Azula was thrilled to have her wife in her arms.

"You're officially a princess," Azula told her.

"I was a princess before." They had done the paperwork before they left.

"Yeah, but it's like double official now."

"Double official?"

"You doubt me, but things are different now."

"That they are."

Azula leaned in and kissed her.

"What happened when Hakoda and Sokka took you out last night?"

"I got the typical, 'if you hurt our baby girl you're gonna get it' talk, and then there was whiskey and sled dogs. I don't remember what happened after that until I woke up with a headache."

Later, Sokka told his sister, "Your wife has a big mouth when she's drunk."

"What did she say?"

"She couldn't shut up about you. Katara likes this dish, but she likes it when I add more cow pig and less cumin or Katara told me this joke at this place. I'm just relieved she didn't tell us your favorite sex position. She told us everything else!"

"Shut up!" she shoved him.

"ABUSE!" he teased.

The siblings teased each other as they danced. His baby sister was married.

Katara allowed Uma to have one dance with Azula. "And hands where I can see them," she told her.

"My hands will stay put. Your wife's on the other hand …" She ran away before Katara could water whip her.

"You must have taken lessons," Umi said as she and Azula danced.

"I did at school, all nobles do, but I actually learned to dance at sub parties."

"What's a sub party?"

"When there is a boring party thrown by a stuffy noble who has teenage kids, they often have a mini party somewhere else on the premises with booze." Ty Lee took her to these to help her learn to socialize after the war. "There were all kinds of kids there and they knew many different dances." The princess would study them at first, but over time, she slowly made her way to the floor and learned.

"I have never been to a party that had its own party."

"I doubt you've been to a party boring enough to need one."

"I suppose not."

Katara claimed her wife at the end of the song.

"You really meant just one dance."

"YUP!" Katara took her away.

* * *

Aang was telling stories to amuse the children. Ty Lee sat with him. He was so good with kids. She remembered Katara's fears that he wouldn't know how to connect to his non-airbending children, but Ty Lee was hopeful that she could help him figure it out, when the time came.

She knew Azula wouldn't work out because she was too fiery. Ty Lee loved her as a friend, but couldn't sustain such passion long term. Katara had more fire than Aang could handle. Who would have thought that the Princess and the Avatar would effectively switch girlfriends?

Aang was hyper like she was. He would be busy a lot, but she needed time to herself anyway. She thought it would be nice to open a yoga studio in the temple and offer classes while Aang was gone. It would give her something to do and he said he wanted to share the Air Nation's ways with the world. A class could be a great way of doing just that.

These were all just musings. They were nice thoughts.

Hakoda came to take over kid duty.

"Take your girl out to dance before you lose her," Hakoda told him. "Who wants to hear a story from the chief?"

"ME!" the kids clamored.

Aang took Ty Lee's hand and they went to dance.

"Hopefully, this party ends better than the last," Ty Lee teased.

Aang cringed.

"Too soon?"

"I just feel so terrible about Hei Won."

"That wasn't your fault."

"I know, but I'm still creeped out. Being pursued by someone who won't take a hint is unsettling."

"I know."

"And Katara must have been unsettled for a while because of me."

"She's forgiven you."

"I know, but ugh!"

"You're not Hei Won. You wouldn't have given your soul to Koh even if he promised you Katara and 5 airbenders."

"How do you know?"

She kissed him. "That's how I know."

* * *

At the end of the night, Azula carried her bride to their bed. Her dress was so beautiful that Azula took her time to remove it, not wanting to harm the delicate stitching.

"I won't wear it again," Katara told her.

"But maybe our daughter will want it."

"You think we'll have kids." She wasn't sure if Azula wanted any.

"Why not?"

It was a conversation that could wait for another day. Right now, Katara was naked, and Azula was not.

"What did I tell you about being naked behind close doors?"

"You don't have a proper door," Azula teased.

"Strip!"

"Yes milady." Azula took off her coat and peeled away her clothing, leaving her strong body bare.

Katara pulled her wife on top of her. They covered each other in kisses and bite marks. The full mood had Katara in a ravenous mood. She sucked a warm nipple into her mouth and started to chew.

The Princess began panting as Katara pinched the other one, hard. The waterbender had once been jealous that the spirits had given Azula more on top, but she found Azula's chest quite enjoyable. She froze the sweat off Azula's skin, using it to make an ice cube and holding it to the her nipple.

"OH!"

The ice made it's way down, Azula's firm body until it disappeared inside her making the Princess shiver.

Normally, Katara went first but tonight, she was having her way with her wife. Her fingers disappeared inside Azula's heat, her digits waterbending her deep inside.

She cried out Agni's name but there would be no salvation for her, at least none coming from any spirits. The only one who could give her any relief was the waterbender who loved to make her wait for it.

She slowed down, as Azula got closer. Her hand moving less as Azula's hips bucked for more. It was only a matter of time before, "PLEASE!" Azula begged with a throaty groan.

"Please what Baby?"

"FUCK ME!"

She loved it when Azula swore. It was a rarity for the prim Princess, but when she was denied, her "proper" speech had a way of disappearing, and Katara loved pushing her past her limits.

Katara grinned as she curled her fingers forward, and began to thrust in and out, hard and fast as Azula gasped and groaned for more. She erupted like a volcano as she sank into the sheets. Katara kept going until Azula stopped moving. She pulled out her now gooey hand.

Azula needed time to recover and once she did, it was time for payback.

She pounced on her wife like a dragon taking its prey and she told her on no uncertain terms that she was going to "fuck you until your throat is raw from screaming all night."

She kissed her way down Katara's cooler, softer body, holding her perfect hips as she bit and marked her thighs. Katara opened her legs and Azula began to devour her.

Now that the tables were turned, Katara could only think of the desire building inside. Azula had first taken her almost a year ago and Katara had never felt anything like the need in her loins. Now, even though she knew the intensity of desire, it still seemed to take her by surprise when it happened. It was as if each time the full moon came, Katara was some how hornier than the last one. She wondered if she would one day burst from being fucked too well.

Azula used her tongue and fingers to bring her wife to the edge. She suddenly stopped. Katara growled at the loss as Azula pulled her fingers away.

"Patience," Azula said with a carnal smile. She affixed a strap on to herself. This one was ivory and bigger than the one they usually used. Azula headed the ivory one just a touch, not wanting it to be too warm and slowly pushed her way inside.

"OH SPIRITS!" Katara felt so full right now. Azula kissed her and began to slowly move her hips. She was building up her bride all over again and when Katara reached the point of no return, she wrapped her legs around her groom's hips, holding her inside as she bucked her hips.

Azula flipped her over, controlling their love making from below as Katara rode her. She started to cum, but Azula only thrusted harder and faster causing the orgasms to overlap as they kept coming. When Katara went limp, Azula withdrew and gently set her on the bed.

"We're just getting started," Azula promised. That night, they went through many different positions and places in the small igloo as Azula took her wife on their furs, on all fours, on the table, reverse cowgirl on their couch and any other way she could conceive.

The waterbender found herself screaming for more for hours. Her throat was worn out by the time they were done.

It's a good thing the neighbors were full of food and drink from the wedding. Most of them slept soundly all night, but some of the children wondered what was that wolf doing making noise all night.

Azula made Katara tea in the morning. The princess had a smug look on her face.

"Shut up," Katara hissed, her voice hurt. She started to sip

"Don't strain yourself," Azula told her.

Katara flipped her off.

They kept to themselves for the day. They had one more week in the tribe and then it was back in the Fire Nation. Azula would always hate the snow, but she would always like thinking of her wedding day when she looked at it.


	14. Chapter 14

**November 104AG**

Hei Won had been in therapy for three months now. She had only received letters from the other acolytes. She had not had any visitors. She wouldn't get any visitors until she addressed the issues that led her here.

They tried to talk to her about who she was and what she wanted for herself in life, but she could only see herself as a victim. Aang had been stolen from her. Her freedom had been stolen from her. She owed these people nothing and she made sure to let them know.

During the first month, she mostly threw hissy fits, insisting that Aang loved her and that they shouldn't be keeping them apart. She said she'd find her way back to him no matter what they did and she tried to break out four different times. The guards always found her. She wasn't very athletic, so she couldn't climb the gate and even if she could, the other patients would signal the guards when she'd try to leave. Even they could see how broken she was.

Her voice was tired out by the second month. She didn't talk much at all. Rather, she would stay quiet while her therapist tried to talk to her.

"Have you thought about where you want to go when you leave here?" They were trying to show her that she had a life worth living that they could help her get well so she could get to it, but she would just sit and glare.

Her group therapy was no better. The others would share their stories and their fears but she would not respond. The patients would try to encourage each other, but she would never comment. She didn't consider herself one of them and it showed.

Hei Won always sat by herself at lunch. The other patients, some of them former Joo Dees, would all sit together. It wasn't a very big facility. The patients could all fit at one table.

One day, one of the former Joo Dees sat down across from her.

"What are you doing?"

"Eating lunch with you."

"I eat by myself."

"You can stop pretending you know."

"What?"

"You think if you refuse to talk you aren't one of us, that you're some normal girl who got put here by mistake. You got put here for a reason, and if you don't start looking at yourself to figure out why, you'll never leave."

Hei Won got up and left.

The girl continued to eat in the same spot. She wasn't deterred at all.

Hei Won refused to get in the water during swim. One of the girls said that the doctor was looking for her and she she turned around, she got table topped into the pool. She shrieked, the first time she had shown any emotion to the group in a month and demanded to know who had shoved her.

The other patients simply jumped in the pool, continuing on with their usual games. Hei Won got out of the water. "I'm cold now!"

"You'd be warmer if you got back in," one of them told her.

It was true, but instead, she went right back to her room.

It wasn't until the third month that she finally said something. "I wanted her to die," were the first words that came out of her mouth.

"Who did you want to die?"

"Katara."

"Why?"

"Ever since he left, he only compared every girl he saw to her. As long as she was around, there was hope that he could get her back. I had to end his hope for her."

"But he had moved on to another girl."

"It was only a matter of time before it fell apart. Katara would always be in the way."

"Do you really think that or were you just jealous that he had chased her for so long, but he never really noticed you?"

"What's the difference?"

"If you don't know how you got here, you won't know how to find your way back out. If Katara were here instead of me, what would you say to her?"

"I have no idea."

"Tell me when you know."

* * *

Aang had wanted to start his search for the sky bison before the winter set in, but there was a group of sandbenders who had been robbing people trying to cross the Si Wong Desert. The wealthy would fly over it and those with time to spare could sail around it the eastern part of the kingdom instead, but those who didn't have the money or the time would have to try and cross it and risk having everything they had taken from them.

The thieves would even steal their water. If Aang didn't find a way to stop them, people could die. He knew better than to take them on alone. Last time he came across sandbenders, they had stolen Appa. This time, he went with Toph and Haru.

The trio was outnumbered, but they had (effectively) three master earthbenders, one master waterbender, one master firebender and a master airbender.

The first battle was a short one. The thieves had attacked a caravan of dancers on their way to Omashu to perform.

They had been about to take the caravan when they found themselves being knocked out of it by a giant gust of wind. Toph and Haru quickly attacked as soon as the thieves hit the ground. Unfortunately, the culprits were able to make a sandstorm large enough to shield them from view so they could escape.

Instead of chasing them, the heroes decided to help the dancers get across the desert.

They stayed in the plains, living in a Toph made of rock and patrolling the desert until they finally had a chance to spring a trap.

They disguised themselves as a group of settlers, named Aan, Top and Hau.

"Aan, I can't believe you brought all that gold. You should have left it in the bank!"

"But we can buy goods much cheaper in Omashu than we could in Ba Sing Se."

"But there could be any number of thieves here. Or you could just drop it on the ground like you did in Gaoling."

"I lose the food money one time and I never hear the end of it."

They pretended not to notice the thieves surrounding them. When the ringleader demanded they had over their money, Aang handed over a bag, which had a few coins on top, but the rest was made of rock.

"We got ourselves a good score!" Instead of just taking the money, they searched the trio for water, weapons, anything they could use, but when they got to Toph, she quickly metalbended cuffs on the man who grabbed her and the fight was on.

Aang set their caravan on fire, ruining their chance to flee this time as Haru and Toph metalbended restraints on the thieves. The sandbenders fought dirty, trying to get sand in their eyes, nose and mouth, doing anything they could to halt the arrest.

It was no use. Aang had gone into the avatar state to take down the last sandbenders and that was it. They all got hauled to the nearest jail, which was in Gaoling.

By the time Aang got Haru and Toph back home and got back to the Southern Air Temple, it was already December. The sky bison would likely be hiding out in caves for warmth during the winter. He didn't think he'd find any before spring so he decided to post pone the search until then.

"Don't worry buddy. Come April, we'll head right there."

* * *

Azula kissed the ground when they got off their ship well she did that in her mind. In person, she did a dance to celebrate "No snow! No snow!"

Katara laughed at her. "You're so ridiculous."

"I can feel the Earth. I can feel my toes. Agni is shining on me again. All is right in the world." She smiled broadly as she pulled Katara into a tender kiss. "I can do that whenever I want."

"That was true before."

"It's even better when my lips aren't frozen."

"You're overreacting."

"You don't understand. There's a reason dragons don't live in ice boxes."

"Other than they'd be too big to fit."

"And I can taste the difference in the air."

"You cannot!"

"Oh it tastes so good!"

Katara rolled her eyes. They made their way back to the palace where Azula was so happy that she hugged a servant. Once she realized what she had done, they turned away awkwardly, both pretending the moment had never happened at all.

Azula was so glad to be back she ran to her brother's office, threw open the door and questioned. "How much did you miss me?"

"Oh did you leave?" Mai questioned.

"I missed your dry sense of humor," Azula said as she hugged her. "And Zuzu, I missed your unfortunate taste in clothing."

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Oh it feels so good to be back where there is no snow."

"Ah, I can see why you're so happy now. The cold sounds horrible."

"It's amazing that people survive there without heatbending."

She saw the head sage walking by. "You have a family tree to update!"

Katara poked her head in once the coast was clear. "She's lost her mind again."

"Well, you're her wife, so she's your responsibility now," Mai told her.

"No one told me!"

Zuko laughed. "Oh, I was so cheerful the day she turned 16. It meant she was no longer in my custody."

"Yet she's still here."

"Well, yeah there is that, but I can't get sued because she breaks stuff anymore."

"Wait, can they sue me?" Katara looked around. "Azula! Don't break anything," she called out as she ran after her wife.

"You're terrible," Mai told her fiancée.

"I know."

"It's triple official," Azula told Katara. She showed her the updated family tree.

"When we have kids it's quadruple official."

"That's right."

Katara shook her head. "How about we go to bed?"

"I like the way you think."

"I meant to sleep. I'm tired."

"Oh you will be tired." Azula hoisted her wife over her shoulder.

* * *

Ty Lee heard their antics in the hallway, and she missed Aang. He had to go off to catch those sandbaggers. Things hadn't been too eventful at the palace. With the assassination attempts having calmed down years ago, Ty Lee wondered why the warriors were still in the palace, not that she didn't mind living here. She wondered, however, if she would be more at ease at Kyoshi Island. She'd be closer to Aang and the island was so lively.

She asked Suki if she missed Kyoshi Island.

"I do. The palace has been great, but I miss my girls." The girls on the island were growing up so fast. They had been gone for over three years.

"I was wondering if maybe it was time to go back, not immediately of course. Zuko will need a new security team."

"You don't want to stay in the Fire Nation?" Suki was surprised.

"I want to be closer to Aang. Azula is married. Mai is getting married. They're still my best friends, but they've settled down. They're going to be thinking about starting families in a couple of years, and if this is my chance to find happiness too, I want to take it." She couldn't expect to have the same amount of time in their lives as she once had.

Suki would be about the same distance away from Sokka, so it wasn't really any better or worse in terms of how often she would get to see him.

"I have to see how the other girls feel, but maybe you're right. We haven't been on Kyoshi Island in a while."

The girls weighed the pros and cons of leaving.

Pro, they would get to go to their home.

Con, they would have to clean their home.

Pro, they would get the food they grew up eating.

Con, they would have to make it.

Pro, they'd (mostly) be closer to their loved ones.

Con, they'd be closer to their loved ones.

"You'll be closer to the tribe," one of the girls pointed out to Suki. When Sokka did go home, she'd be on the way. If they stayed together, someday, she'd be living there.

At the end of it all, it was unanimous; the Kyoshi Warriors were ready to go home.

The following week, Suki sat down with Zuko. "I think it's time for us to go back to Kyoshi Island."

"Do you not like the palace?" he was confused.

"Oh the palace is great, and you've been more than hospitable, but we were brought here to protect you. No one's attacked in years. We're getting soft. We don't cook our own food, clean up after our selves, and when's the last time we had any real action. We're warriors and I think we've gotten too comfortable here. We should be on our toes and ready for danger.

Also, it's been a long time since we've been back. The girls have siblings who are growing up, parents that they want to visit and we're the Kyoshi Warriors. We are supposed to protect our island.

It also means when we come here, we can be guests."

He knew that someday, they'd have to move on. He just didn't think it would be so sudden. "I understand. Thank you for your service."

"Thank you for having us."

* * *

They gave him three months to hire a new security team. Suki would work with the new leader closely and help him get ready for the job.

Zuko and Mia had the fun job of trying to figure out who had tried to kill them before, so they wouldn't be hired to secure them now. Many of the assassins had died, never revealing their sponsors.

"I think we should have Azula help us," Mai said. "She knows who out of these people, who would hire a hit man and who wouldn't."

"You're probably right."

Zuko sent a servant to get his sister. She was in bed with her wife. "I could get used to this."

"What, having sex all the time?"

"Yeah."

"We had a lot of sex before we got married."

"But it's better now."

"You're such a softie."

"Lies!"

"The Fire Lord requests your presence," the servant told her.

"Of course he does. That means I have to put on clothes don't I?"

"Yes it does."

"How unfair!"

When she got to Zuko's office, Mai said, "It only took you 20 minutes to get here this time."

"Well, we were already done when the servant got there."

Zuko cringed.

"Then what took you twenty minutes?"

"I couldn't decide what to wear."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Out of all of these people, who do you think would be the least likely to try to kill us?"

They were looking for a new head of security.

"Not him," she said of the first man on their list. "His brother died during Sozin's Comet." She went down the list, trying to see which names stuck out to her. "His father was a good associate of Ozai's; I wouldn't chance it."

There was only one woman on their list. "Who's Qiu?"

"She's a Lieutenant in the navy. She joined after the war when we started chasing down pirates who were stealing goods we were sending to Yu Dao."

"Hmm. Why is she on the list?" Azula wouldn't have heard of her.

"She managed to break out of the brig when pirates took over the vessel she was on. From there, she killed the pirate captain in an agni kai. As per their rules, she became the new captain where she sailed them to the nearest port and had them arrested."

"Interesting. I wouldn't know her family history, so you'll have to research her on your own, but she sounds more amusing than most of these people." Azula did another once over. "Admiral Chan is incompetent. Don't appoint him."

"He's on the list?" Zuko questioned.

"All the admirals got put on the list," Mai said. "What's wrong with him again, other than his progeny?"

"He didn't tell anyone he was on vacation for two months, and the enemy sent fake instructions supposedly from him. It's how our palace got invaded on the Day of the Black Sun."

"He just left?" Zuko questioned.

"No one knew he was off his post."

"Forget that."

* * *

Azula was on her way back to her room when she saw Ty Lee.

"I guess you heard," Ty Lee said to her.

"Was it a secret?"

"No, but I don't think we fit in here the way we used to."

"What's changed?"

"You're married. Mai and Zuko are going to be married. You all are going to go into family mode, and we'll be the bachelorettes who in theory protect you but actually got used to being lazy fat cats."

"You don't think you'll fit in now."

"Not the way that I used to, but that's a good thing. You should move forward with Katara. It just means I have to move forward too."

"What will I do when I need to gossip or a chi massage?"

"Mai can gossip, and I bet you and Katara could both learn how to give chi massages."

"But what about when I gossip about Mai?"

Ty Lee laughed. "You'll figure it out."

"You want to be closer to baldy, don't you?"

"His name is Aang and yes I do."

"Good for you. I wasn't sure if you'd ever settle down. I suppose it would have to be the world's most powerful man to catch you."

"I'm not settling down yet."

"Oh yes you are. You're hooked, and you don't even know it. I was hooked when I moved to Republic City, and it took me three months to see it. When you're moving to get closer to someone, you're settling down."

Ty Lee frowned. "I'm not even 20 yet."

Azula shrugged. "I'm 19 and married. Who knew?"

The two friends hugged.

"Take care of yourself Ty."

"We're not going just yet."

"I know."

"You can visit me you know."

"I could, but it's dangerously close to the snow zone!"

"You're too much!"

"You didn't spend six weeks there."

"Katara spent most of her life there."

"She's a waterbender. Snow for them is like sand for us."

"Yet she goes to the beach with you."

"Stop trying to trick me with your logic."

"Your kids might be waterbenders."

"We shall have one firebender per waterbender."

"You can't decree that!"

"I'm the crown princess. I can do what I want!"

"Who do you think will carry them?"

Azula shivered at the thought. "She has better hips; she should do it."

"What?"

"Hers were made for bearing children. Mine are narrower. They're better for sprinting, like out the room while she's giving birth."

"You're terrible."

"I know. That's where my charm comes from."

"I don't think being terrible is charming," Katara told her as she approached.

"But it is sexy," Ty Lee told her.

Katara looked at her.

"What, bad girls are hot?"

"It's true."

"I'm not bad," Katara insisted.

"Miss. Steals Scrolls!"

"How did you know about that?"

"Your brother talks a lot when he's drunk."

"Curse him."

"I was kind of turned on when Aang told me you could bloodbend."

"What?"

"It was terrifying but in a hot way."

"You were hotter when you were no good," Ty lee told Azula. "You're sexiness comes from your dark side."

"I prefer you good," Katara told her.

"It's better for marriage," Ty Lee said. "But Azula was so hot in her armor."

"I know. It's why I wanted to wear it to the ball last year."

"What?" Katara questioned.

"I figured I'd get more action. What lesbian doesn't love a bad girl with gold in her hair?"

Ty Lee laughed out loud.

Katara kissed her nose. "Then I don't want you wearing your armor any more."

"Even if we're role playing?"

Katara frowned. "You told her about that?" She was embarrassed.

"She knows everything about me. It goes with the territory."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Ty Lee insisted. "A little role playing is totally normal. This one time, I got Aang to dress up as a …"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Zuko said as he came down the hall. "Whatever you two do to each other, I don't want to know."

"You're not even related to either of them," Mai pointed out.

"I know, but Ty Lee is practically a sister and …"

"AW!" She hugged him excitedly.

"Can't breathe Ty Lee!"

She didn't let go right away. The others laughed at him.

* * *

Over the next several weeks, they put together their new security team. They liked Qiu's enthusiasm, but they thought she needed more experience before she would be ready to lead, so they made her 2nd in command and appointed her current superior as the head of their new security team.

Qiu was excited to be defending in the palace and double excited to be able to pick the princess's brain.

"I always wanted to join the military, but my dad said no."

"That's too bad."

"He said girls are supposed to get married, not dress up and play soldier, but when you conquered Ba Sing Se, I just knew my dream was possible."

Qiu was sweet, a little clingy, but it was her job to make sure Azula didn't die.

"Make sure she knows that's her only job," Katara eyed the girl suspiciously.

"You can't fight every girl who pays attention to me."

"That's what you think."

"Did I tell you that you're cute when you're jealous?"

Katara frowned.

"Even cuter when you pout." Azula kissed her cheek. "She's just excited for her new job."

"I see the way she looks at you."

"Just because she joined the navy doesn't mean she's gay."

"What about the fact that she checks out your but when you walk away?"

"If I tried to fight everyone who checked out your butt, I'd probably end up in jail."

**January 105AG**

Hei Won finally had an answer for Dr. Sing. "I wanted revenge," she admitted. "When I threw the dart at Katara, I wanted Aang's heart to break, just like he had broken mine. I wanted her to pay for having his heart for so long."

"How did you feel when you did it?"

"I lost it. Before I knew it, I took the knife, and I was dead."

"Revenge didn't feel so good after all."

"No it didn't."

"If you could do anything with your life, what would it be?"

"I don't know."

"Think about it."

She was finally coming to terms with what she did. She didn't know Koh's true motives, but she knew when he was encouraging her to do bad things and she willingly did them. She needed to confront who she had been to become who she was meant to be.

Over the last three months, she slowly warmed up to the other patients. She didn't sit alone all the time. She started swimming with them. She even learned to play Kuai ball.

She doubted that she'd ever see these people again once they got out, but it was nice to not be alone anymore. She wasn't the only one who needed to start over. She just hoped that when she did, she'd be able to find her place in the world.


	15. Chapter 15

**February 105AG**

Azula got correspondence from a banker in Republic City.

Dear Princess,

As I'm sure you know, the Fire Nation and United Republic have a treaty to share information when nationals of one country are using the institutions of the other country to commit financial crimes.

As per this treaty, the Council has made all of its banks mandatory reporters. If we suspect any financial crimes are going on in our institutions, we must report to the sovereign of the nationals involved.

One of my employees reported suspicious behavior to me, so I am relaying that information to you. Four of your nationals have been transferring ban from banks in Capital City to Republic City and back to the Fire Nation. Normally, we don't keep track of transactions of less than 500 ban for more than 15 days as it would be cumbersome, but since each transaction was 499 coins, my employee thought it was a deliberate attempt to make sure that their money movements would not be tracked in the long term.

Fearing that this was some sort of tax evasion or fraud, my employee kept the records past the normal purging date and collected them. I sent copies of all of the records, but I myself do not know what the purpose was of moving the money back and forth between the two cities.

Enclosed is a checklist, showing that we have maintained every obligation under the treaty. If you have any more questions, I can make my employee available to your investigators.

Azula flipped through the evidence. The transactions go back to December and each week, 499 coins is moved, held for 16 days and then moved back into another account. Clearly, these men are familiar with the banking regulations and wanted the trail to run cold.

All four names were on the watch list Azula had made of suspects that may have financed past assassination attempts on Zuko. Was this financing for another attempt. 2000 coins a week for several weeks sounded like too much money just to hire one assassin. It sounded like they were paying for a mercenary group.

Azula decided to inquire as to the movements of the Yuyan archers and the Rough Rhinos, but she decided not to sound the alarm just yet. If she put Zuko in a panic, he would abruptly change all of his plans, making it hard for her to get to the bottom of this. She needed him to act normally, which meant he needed to think all was normal. Azula would keep this under her hat for now.

**March 105AG**

The wedding planning was in full swing. They were having their wedding in late of June. Summer weddings were traditional for the Fire Lord and July was popular for vacations. August would be too close to the end of the war party so they went with June. It would also be a summer solstice party.

The invitations had just gone out. Mai was trying to get through the wedding planning, but it was difficult. The sages were fussy. Her mother was fussy. Apparently, she became a mother again when it was time for the wedding planning. "Oh your father's associates will want to sit together and they want to seat near the …"

Mai should have known that father put her up to this. "What, should I get a golden throne for Tom Tom too?"

"No reason to be a snot."

"And they said this was the bride's big day."

Zuko hid from all the arrangements. "Just tell me how many bridesmaids you're having, so I know how many groomsmen I need."

Katara wasn't much help. "I didn't plan my wedding. Gran Gran did."

"You just walked away?"

"They surprised us with it. All I had to do was get measured for a dress."

"Ugh!" Mai whined.

"Why don't you just go hide too? It's unfair that Zuko's the only one getting out of it."

"And leave the sages and my mother to duke it out?"

"Yeah. As long as you like your dress, and it's not tacky, who cares."

"That sounds too easy."

Mai tried to hide, but the Head Sage and her mother kept tracking her down.

Finally, she dragged Zuko to join them. "You can't make me suffer alone."

"So I have to suffer with you?"

"That's what marriage is!"

It only took two days for Zuko to write for reinforcements.

"Dear Uncle Iroh,

Wedding planning is a nightmare. The sages and Mai's mother have gone crazy and neither of us can get a word in edge wise. I know you have more experience planning Fire Nation traditional events than either of us, and neither of us were alive for the last Fire Nation royal wedding, so we don't know what we actually have to do or what we can get out of doing.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Zuko

Iroh decided to come visit the couple and help them in person.

He arrived ten days later to hear the feuding down the hall. Mai's mother wanted one kind of flower arrangement, but the sages didn't think those flowers symbolized the right sentiments, and it was about to be a full-blown fight

Zuko hid under the table while Mai just started drinking.

When Iroh came he got both sides in their corner and called the couple to have them figure out what they wanted it to look like.

Zuko was relieved Iroh had come. Mai was relieved that her mother shut up.

* * *

Azula had been sparring with Qiu. "Put your hands closer together," Azula instructed.

"When you are fighting someone with a sword, you don't want to leave your hands where they can get lobbed off."

"But then my reach is reduced."

"If you need more reach, learn to control your breath better."

Azula had her hands side by side, but by controlling the air in her lungs, she was able to send a fire whip that went across the ring.

"Your arm length is rarely going to be your limiting factor. My brother is bigger than I am, but I can strike from further away because I have better control of my lungs."

Qiu struggled with the new form. Her instinct was still to keep her hands out. She had taught herself how to fight.

"I have an idea."

Azula tied the girl's wrist to her waist, limiting her reach. "Now, you have no choice but to focus on the flame."

Her father used to use such tricks with her to get her to develop her fire.

After they were done training, Qiu asked how did she learn all this stuff.

"My father trained me starting at age 5. When I turned 7, I started getting military training. Less than eight years later, he sent me to arrest my uncle and my brother."

"I don't think I could control my flame until I was around 7."

"That's not so late. I think the average age is six, but what you lack in formality, you make up for in creativity. Once you have both, you will be quite a force to be reckoned with."

Azula was on her way to take a bath, when the servant told her that Zuko had scheduled teatime for all of them.

"I hardly look ready for tea."

"He knows you were training. He said it was fine."

Azula took off her outer gear and the servant brought it to her chambers. Now she was just wearing a white cotton t-shirt and training pants.

Katara thought she looked great in simple garb. "I can see how strong your arms are," she had told her after they were training one day.

Azula made her way to the tearoom and on her way there, she saw her wife. Katara had been teaching waterbending at one of the nearby public schools. Now that they lifted their nationality requirements on their school system, students from almost every nation were enrolled. Previously, they could only teach firebending, martial arts and weaponry, but now they could teach waterbending and earthbending too.

Katara taught a beginners' class. The kids were so cute.

"Did you wear this just for me?"

"Everything is just for you." They kissed quickly.

"Stop kissing already," Mai called to them. She could see them through the glass.

"You can't tell me what to do!"

Katara took Azula's hand, and they went to the tearoom. To their surprise, Iroh was there.

"Here for a visit?" Katara asked as she greeted him.

"I thought I'd help out with the wedding planning."

"How nice."

"How was your wedding?"

You'd know if you had bothered to show up, Azula thought to herself.

"It was very nice. It was great to be home and with my family and they redid the hall just for us."

The servants came with pastries and tea. They knew all of Azula's favorites. Katara was about to bite into a tomato carrot cake but Azula took it from her with her chopsticks.

"Hey!" I was going to eat that.

"You don't like those."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Which ones do I like?" Katara could never keep the treats apart. She couldn't see the inside, so she'd eat one and if she didn't like it, she wouldn't necessarily remember what the outside had looked like, so she'd be prone to eating it again.

Azula took her chopsticks and grabbed a taro puff, two shumai, one char siu bun, and a cow pig skewer. She handed Katara back the plate.

"How do you know which ones she likes?" Mai asked her.

"I have a very good memory. I know which ones caused her to smile and which ones caused her to frown, which is how I knew she wouldn't like to tomato carrot cake."

"I can never tell these apart." Katara admitted as she bit into one of the dumplings. "But they are good."

When Katara reached for the tea, Azula took that from her too. "You don't like that tea."

"I don't?"

"No."

"I don't remember drinking a tea I didn't like."

"I remember you spitting out that one the last time you tried it."

"Are you sure?"

Azula handed it to her.

"Oh that was foul!" Katara complained.

Azula laughed. "I told you."

"It tastes like feet."

"Maybe they used it to clean Zuko's sandals."

"HEY!"

Azula got her a different tea instead. "You like this one."

Azula used the tea Katara didn't finish to clean off her chopsticks.

"What are you doing?" Zuko questioned.

"I don't like having meat on my chopsticks when I switch from meat pastries to sweet ones."

"They could just bring you more chopsticks."

"But then I have to wait." She grabbed an egg tart.

"My dad does that at restaurants," Mai said.

"That's because the dim sum restaurants here aren't very hygienic. I wash everything with the tea before I eat there."

"You wash everything?" Zuko questioned.

"The chopsticks, the plate, the cups, pretty much everything."

"How do they pass health inspection?" Iroh questioned.

"They pay bribes."

"What?" Zuko questioned.

"They're mostly fronts for the black market. Why wouldn't they bribe the health inspector?"

"You never told me that."

"Where do you think I go when I need to find out who's up to what? If you closed down the restaurants, you'd ruin my intelligence."

"But they're hiding their money from the tax collector," Zuko complained.

"And when they bribe me into not reporting them, I give the money back to the Crown."

"It's true," Mai said.

"You knew?"

"You didn't?"

Zuko pouted. "No one tells me anything."

"Of course not. You would look really bad if you were complicit. Someone needs plausible deniability. The people need a Fire Lord they can trust. You're too dumb to lie, so I lie for you."

"Well thanks," Zuko said dryly.

"You're welcome."

"Why is lying a sign of intelligence?" Katara questioned. "Stupid people lie too."

"True, but stupid people don't remember which lies they told or make sure that their lies have sufficient veracity such that if you looked further they would seem true. They also are more likely to have people run into each other such that their lies become exposed. Anyone can lie. Lying well is an art and a science."

Hence why Iroh could never trust Azula. She was just too good at lying.

"Are you so convincing when you lie to me?" Katara questioned.

"I don't know. I've never lied to you."

"She's good," Zuko murmured.

Katara couldn't prove otherwise.

After tea, Azula excused herself to take a bath.

"I'll help her," Katara volunteered as she made off.

"That's what servants are for," Zuko called after her.

"Or concubines," Mai teased.

"EWWWW!"

Azula ditched her dirty clothes as she made her way to her bathtub. She added a little soap and Katara made a whirlpool, filling the tub with bubbles.

"Aren't they delightful?"

Azula grinned as she soaked in the tub. "I'm quite lonely in here."

"Do you want me to join you?"

"It depends. Is Qiu available?"

Katara got mad. She waterbended a wave and put it right over Azula's head.

"I was just teasing. We only fool around outside."

"Don't make me …"

"You're hot when you're mad."

"You're horrible."

"Get naked and join me!"

* * *

While the two girls washed each other in the tub, Zuko and Mai enjoyed their teatime with Iroh.

"So tell me, how was your winter?" Zuko wished he saw more of the man, but with their lives on different continents, it was a rarity for them to meet up sometimes.

"It was slower than in winters past." There had been a lot of refugees living in Ba Sing Se, as it had been the best place to start over during the war, but now many of those people had moved to United Republic.

"Maybe you should cut back your winter hours and have longer summer hours," Mai suggested.

"That's not a bad idea."

A few days into his visit, Iroh noticed Qiu. She would come to train with the Princess when she was off duty.

Iroh saw her fighting with her arms tied to her waist. What is she doing?

"Better," Azula called as they went around the ring.

"I can't believe you used to train like this as a child," Qiu told her.

"I also used to train blindfolded."

"Get out!"

"I'll prove it."

Azula put on a blindfold. Qiu tried to hit her, but Azula was too fast. She could hear the punches coming. Could tell when a leg sweep or a kick was headed for her. Even a leaf rustling outside wouldn't escape her attention.

Qiu inspected the blindfold afterwards. "Well I'll be damned."

"You never know when your sight will be unreliable: smoke, night, old age. If you train without it, then you can hone your other senses."

Qiu nodded.

"I think we've done enough for the day," Azula told her.

"Same time Thursday?"

"You got it."

The guard was on her way to get her stuff and go home when she saw the ex-General watching from the window.

"Are you one of the new guards?"

"Lt. Qiu."

"I'm Iroh."

"I know," she said.

He looked at her blankly.

"They have portraits of the royal family all over the palace."

"Oh of course."

After some small talk, Qiu made her exit.

"She's not one for many words," Iroh asked Zuko as she left.

He shrugged. "She usually only talks about her job or training, so she can be better at her job."

"Must not make for much of a social life."

"No, but it makes for a good employee."

Qiu knew her place as a guard, and would never tell Prince Iroh what she thought of him, but she thought he was an asshole. Her older brother died in his siege protecting Lu Ten's blind side and Iroh kept going. No matter how many lives he lost he kept going. Iroh had gotten through the outer wall, but at what cost? He was losing men and losing ground ever since and instead of realizing he was outmatched, he kept pushing. He loses his son and then decides war wasn't worth it and turns around.

What did he think had been going on for 95 years? Mothers and fathers lost their sons to war, their daughters to illness because they couldn't afford medicine since so much got spent on the war and they all kept going. They didn't just say oh now I had to suffer let me quit. If he felt that way, why did he become a general in the first place? Why was no one else's suffering worth as much as his? If it had been, he would have turned around and Qiang would still be alive.

Qiang was her best friend. They were 10 years apart, but he'd carry her on his shoulders and tell her stories about the war. He was proud to serve and he said as long as there was a prince in their ranks, it was his job to look out for him. She knew if he could do it all over again, he would, even if he knew he'd reach an early grave. He considered it an honor to serve, and so did she. She wasn't surprised that Iroh didn't recognize her. She doubted he remembered any of the other people in the siege or their families.

She took her stuff and headed home. She knew her place. She may protect the palace, but this was not hers.

Over the next week, it became evident to Azula that Iroh wasn't going anywhere soon. Wanting to get away from his prying eyes, she always felt like they were watching her, she needed something to do. She wrote to Ty Lee, asking if there was anything interesting afloat.

"I'm bored," she said. "I need to be put to use doing something."

Ty Lee was getting ready for a trip of her own. "Aang thinks there are wild sky bison in the west part of United Republic. I'm going to help him look."

Azula considered this an invitation to help, and she packed her bags.

"What are you doing?" Katara questioned.

"Going to look for wild sky bison. Aang and Ty Lee are going to United Republic, past the cities and into the forests."

"You want to go hunting?"

"Not hunting but mate searching."

Katara's waterbending class was over. She would offer an intermediate waterbending class the next quarter, but right now she was free. "You want to travel with your ex and my ex?"

"We're all friends now, and from what Ty Lee writes in her letters, why I don't know because I don't find penises amusing, they're doing just great."

Katara purged the thought from her eyes. "Let's go."

Qiu requested to go with them. "My job is to protect the princess."

"I hardly think I'll need protection from Aang."

"But what if there are wild dragons out there too, or displaced Earth Kingdom nationals who …"

"You think there might be dragons?" Azula got wide-eyed. "We're totally going!"

When Ty Lee patrolled the dock on Kyoshi Island, she did not expect to see Azula and Katara arguing. Furthermore, when Katara threw a water whip at Azula, Qiu took the hit.

"What are you doing?" Katara questioned, baffled by her behavior.

"I protect the Princess."

"Even from her wife."

"Especially from her wife."

"I love this," Azula laughed.

"ZULA?" Ty Lee questioned.

"Hey buddy!"

"What are you doing here?" Ty Lee asked as she hugged her.

"You said you were looking for sky bison, so I brought a search party."

"What?"

"I said I was bored. You said you were going to look for sky bison. Therefore, implicitly inviting me to look for sky bison too. My wife wanted to come as did my guard and now we have a team."

Ty Lee was not expecting this response to her letter.

"Where are you all staying?"

"Um, the inn?"

"What do you mean it flooded?" Azula complained when she got to it.

"A pipe burst. You can stay half off, but it's all covered in mildew."

"EW! New plan."

* * *

"What is she doing here?" Suki questioned.

"Occupying your couch!" Azula declared as she put a small Fire Nation flag on the couch.

"What?"

"I stole it from this cute barbeque joint on Ember Island," Azula said of the flag.

Ty Lee laughed. "You're an idiot."

"That's Princess Idiot to you," Azula corrected.

"The inn rooms are flooded," Katara told her. "Do you mind if we stayed on your couch until it's time to go looking for the sky bison?"

"Not a problem, Katara."

"You don't ask permission when you're occupying," Azula told her.

Suki shook her head. "What's wrong with her?"

Ty Lee couldn't answer.

There were two couches. Azula and Katara fit on one, leaving Qiu with the other one.

The Princess fell asleep quickly after arriving or occupying, as she would say.

Qiu took her job seriously and made sure Azula was safe and sound.

"She is asleep; you don't need to watch her," Katara said.

"She's sleeping in the house of girls she once jailed, and she subjected their leader to intensive interrogation techniques to find the Avatar. I can't believe she agreed to stay here."

"Do you find everything a threat?" Katara thought her demeanor was somewhat (maybe totally) paranoid.

"No, but I find that there can be threats hidden in the most benign places."

Katara was about to ask if Qiu thought she was a threat, but she got called upstairs.

"Excuse me," Katara headed up where Suki and other girls were talking.

Not even Azula realized how seriously Qiu took her job. She was used to having guards guard her, and there was honor in it, but it was usually about the money more than anything else.

For Ty Lee, it had been for the camaraderie. She had only dealt with two attacks and both of them were from mentally unstable people who did not pose much of a threat.

For Qiu, however, it was the closest she would ever get to her brother. His room was still as he kept it before he left for Ba Sing Se. She had gone through his letters and his drawings, trying to learn more about the older sibling who died too soon, but much of his life would always be a mystery to her.

Of course, Azula was not Lu Ten and she was not Qiang, but Azula had reminded her of Lu Ten right away. She had met the man before he left with her brother. They had gone barhopping with some of the other guys before they deployed and they had picked up Qiang last. He was kind and he carried himself with a cool confidence, a little cocky maybe. Azula clearly carried some of his traits. Being around her was comforting in a weird way.

Eventually Qiu fell asleep but not for sometime. While she was guarding the princess, the warriors were upstairs, all of them curious about Katara's marriage.

"How did you two get together?" Suki realized she never heard the story. Between their visit to Republic City and Aang's conspiracy theory, they never actually found out what led them to become lovers.

"When we were on vacation in Ember Island last year, Azula heard me when I was having a night terror. She came into my room and held me until I fell asleep. Nothing happened other than sleeping, but she stayed in my room for the rest of the trip.

When she moved to Republic City in August, I asked her to stay over one night, and she started staying over regularly. In December, I kissed her one night when she had stayed over, and we've been together ever since."

"So she moved in?"

"Not exactly. She still had her apartment, and she'd still go there when it wasn't night time."

"So she was like a human teddy bear."

"Pretty much."

"I never thought she could be that sappy."

"She's such a softie." Her favorite way to spend Sunday morning was cuddling with Katara and then having a late brunch.

* * *

Aang arrived at Kyoshi Island the next morning. When he got there, he was surprised to see Katara.

"Are you and Azula visiting?"

"Sort of. She wanted to help look for sky bison after she got Ty Lee's letter, so here we are."

"She tried to commandeer the couch," Suki told him when she came downstairs.

"What?"

"Look at the flag." There was a tiny Fire Nation flag.

Aang cracked up. "I should make tiny Air Nation flags and commandeer stuff."

"NO!" Katara and Suki both told him.

Ty Lee was taking Azula and Qiu on a tour of the island. Qiu had never been south of Omashu before, so this was all new territory for her.

"It's so peaceful here."

"I love it," Ty Lee said.

"How long are you going to stay?"

She shrugged, "Probably until I age out at 25, unless I get married first."

"You're with Captain Baldy?" Qiu asked.

"His name is Aang! Azula, you're terrible."

"I thought that's what you liked about me."

"People don't call him Captain Baldy?" The guard questioned.

"No!"

"I do!" Azula laughed.

They returned to the house where the avatar was waiting for his girlfriend. "Hey Gorgeous," he greeted her as they kissed.

"Ready to go?"

"I'm all packed."

"If we head out soon, we can get to Gaipan before nightfall, and then we can get to the forest tomorrow." Gaipan had been rebuilt after the war. It was a quiet logger town once more.

They secured their stuff to Appa and took off.

Qiu fell asleep. She was tired after watching Azula half the night. Ty Lee was happily canoodling with Aang and Azula was cuddling with Katara. "If we had a baby sky bison, it would be like having a giant puppy," Azula told Katara.

"What?"

"I really like puppies!"

By the time they got to Gaipan, the sun was setting. Aang had found a house to rent for the night, but at the time, he thought only he and Ty Lee would be staying in it.

"There's only one bed," Aang told them.

It could fit two people comfortably, three people okay and anything more than that would be a stretch.

There was no couch but there were dinner chairs. Azula figured they could turn them into a "bed."

"We only need one more spot."

"Appa could double as a bed," Qiu mentioned. "He's warm and fuzzy."

"He's like a massive puppy!" Azula ran outside.

"What?" Ty Lee questioned.

She started petting his head. He made what sounded like a strange purring sound and flopped on the ground. She rubbed his belly. "Who's a sweetie?"

"She really likes puppies," Katara told them.

Azula had no problem falling asleep on Appa's stomach. Katara opted to sleep on the chairs, not wanting to share a bed with her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend or sleep outside on a sky bison. Qiu guarded the princess, as usual and the next day, they were off.

It was only a three-hour flight from Gaipan to the Abbey and once they got food and provisions, they went north about an hour to where they were setting up their base camp.

They reached the forest at about 1PM and looked for high ground to pitch their tents.

Aang set up a run off in case of rain. The weather forecast said it might rain, but today looked perfectly fine.

"How are we going to search for them?" Qiu questioned.

"Sky bison are vegetarians, so we should look for fruit trees, berries, and crops. Anywhere they can either live off the wild vegetation or someone could be feeding them."

"Is there some kind of mating call for them?" Azula questioned.

Aang looked at her quizzically.

"Dragons release pheromones when they're ready to mate. I hear it smells awful!"

"Do you know of any sky bison calls?" Aang didn't think there were any.

Appa took a breath and made a growling sound, but there weren't any other sky bison nearby to hear him.

They got on him and took off for the skies. A couple of hours into the search, they saw a sky bison.

"Go east Appa!" From far away, it looked like a cloud, but as Appa started gaining on the furry flyer, it was clearly another sky bison.

"Hopefully it's a girl," Azula said.

When the sky bison landed, Aang saw that there was a herd of sky bison.

"Someone is raising these."

Aang went to the door. "Hello. Is anyone home?"

The man inside ran out the back.

"Sir, I just want to talk to you about your herd." The man was old, but he was fast. He took off sprinting, and Aang ran after him.

Ty Lee also gave chase.

Qiu was unsure if they should all go. "He must have run for a reason."

The remaining girls went inside the house. "There's a glider here," Katara noticed.

"Maybe airbenders live here," Azula commented.

"Why would he run from the avatar?" Katara questioned.

"Maybe he saw me." Azula said. With her hair in a topknot and her armor (in case they did come across a dragon), she was clearly Fire Nation. "This family could have been hiding out for decades."

They didn't open any drawers but their cursory look around didn't show any signs of weapons.

"I don't think they're criminals," Azula said. "I don't get that vibe here."

"Have you been to a lot of criminal's houses?" Katara asked.

"Someone has to collect the bribes for the Crown."

* * *

A mother and adult son were on their way home from the market. When they got to the house, they saw a sky bison that was foreign.

"He's not ours," the son commented.

"But he's trained," the mother rubbed his fur. Appa purred. "He belongs to someone."

The boy saw figures in the house. "Stay with him," he warned. He made it to the house and slipped in the backdoor. Who could have found them here? What did they want?

Azula said, "Maybe we should look for Aang and the others. I don't think we'll find any answers in an empty house."

He looked and saw Fire Nation. He knew that someday they would come for his family, not if he could help it.

Suddenly a blast of wind hit the girls like a tornado.

"Cover your head," Azula yelled. If it slammed into anything, you would be knocked out cold.

Katara ducked just in time, her back slamming into the wall instead of her skull.

Her back felt like hell, but at least she was awake.

Azula had a better landing, but she was disoriented.

"If you want to live, I suggest you leave now and pretend you never found this place," a voice commanded.

He was clearly an airbender, no way was that a natural gust of wind.

"Let them go. If you want to fight, I suggest you fight me." Qiu stood up, moving towards the voice and getting Azula behind her.

"Why should I let them go anywhere?"

"Qiu, get her out of here," Azula commanded. She turned to the voice.

"You have no reason to harm them. If you have a problem with the Fire Nation, then I'm the one you want."

"Who are you?"

"Princess Azula, next in line to the throne."


	16. Chapter 16

Aang finally caught up with the old man. "I don't want to hurt you. I was just hoping you could help me fight a mate for my sky bison."

He saw the boy's tattoos and said, "Are you the Avatar?"

"I am. My name is Aang. I take it your family has been hiding for a long time."

He nodded. "My grandfather came here over almost 100 years ago. He didn't realize he was an airbender until he was 15. He had been born to nonbenders. Once he realized he was the last one left, he came into hiding with his then girlfriend. They had my father who was an airbender too. My son is an airbender, but my wife is not. We were afraid that the Fire Nation would come for us, so we hid out here and protected the sky bison who got away."

"Why didn't you come out when the war was over?" Ty Lee asked him.

He shook his head. "It was too scary. We've been hiding our bending for so long, we weren't sure what would happen if people found out about us, what the new Fire Lord was really like. We wanted to make sure the world was stable before we came out of hiding. Often times, when one war ends, a new one pops up right after it."

They had almost gone to war again a couple of times, so his fears were more than valid.

"Where is your family now?"

"They should be home."

"We should go back now," Aang said as he started moving quickly.

"What is it?" the man questioned.

"We came with our friends and one of them is the Crown Princess."

If they thought Azula was there to kill them, it would be very dangerous for everyone.

* * *

"So what are your terms?" the young man questioned.

"I win, you tell me who you are and what you know, if anything, about wild dragons, and if you win, you get to name your price for our safe exit."

"Why should I help you find the dragons? So you can hunt them too."

"I don't want to hunt them. I want to bring them back if I can. My grandfather never should have hunted them in the first place. I'm not sure why he did."

"If you win, maybe I'll tell you."

They squared up outside the house. He started with a giant burst of air, which was unlike anything Azula had ever seen before outside of a natural disaster. She vaulted away from it with her hands and responded with a fire whip that turned into fire rain when he attacked it. They were both very skilled fighters. He used the wind and debris to try and destroy her armor. She used her flame to try and knock him off balance.

This was quite an adrenaline rush for the Princess. This was her first epic fight (while she was sane) since she battled the Avatar in Ba Sing Se. She was having fun.

The boy considered this a fight for his life. He knew how dangerous the Fire Nation was. She was likely the most dangerous of all.

It started to rain. He sent a storm of dirt and water her way.

She knew she needed to break his concentration. She threw a bolt of lightening into the attack, the first time she had thrown lightening in almost five years. Once it hit the "hurricane," it sent sparks flying everywhere. Not wanting to get shocked, the boy had to retreat. Azula ran around the sparks, perilously close to the danger zone when she knocked him to the ground.

"I must say that you are very talented. Did you teach yourself or were you trained?"

"You aren't going to kill me?"

"Why would I?"

"Your people kind of killed us all, or all the ones they found."

"Sozin was looking for the Avatar who he failed to find. My friend is the Avatar, so even if I wanted to kill him, I already know you aren't him."

"But they killed the old people too," he argued. "Surely they knew how old he was. The last Avatar was Fire Nation."

"When the people wouldn't give Aang up, Sozin wanted to send a message, but it didn't work. He wasn't the best at self-control. As it turned out, no one knew where Aang had gone."

"And where was he when the world needed him!"

"I was frozen in a block of ice," Aang admitted as he returned with the boy's father.

"Dad!" He hugged him.

"I hope you didn't fight our new friends."

"Well I did, but it was a really good fight."

"Tell that to my back," Katara muttered.

"Well, I stand by my word," the boy said to Azula. "I'm Ling and from what I know, the dragons are in the caves furthest north on the continent, as if you drew a straight line from here to the Northern Water Tribe."

Azula gave her wife a massage while Aang explained to the boy and his mother why they had come. "We saw one of your sky bison and followed it. We ended up here."

"Our family has been hiding for so long," Chao told them. "I never thought it would be any other way." He hadn't known any other way.

"You said you had siblings?" Ty Lee asked.

"Yeah. We're scattered about these parts."

Aang still couldn't believe he wasn't the only airbender. "I didn't know there were any Air Nation people who didn't live in the temples."

"I suspected there were still airbenders," Azula said, "well at least until you were found. Everyone knew all of the Air Nomads were airbenders, but that didn't mean that all of the airbenders were nomads. I assumed some were hiding out in the Earth Kingdom and that one of them was the avatar who was either unaware that he was the avatar or was too scared to fight."

"But how did they get here in the first place?" Aang wondered.

"Selective breeding. They had all of the nonbenders adopted into Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation homes for hundreds of years," Azula told him. "Eventually, all of the Air Nomads were airbenders, but there were people who had the potential to have airbending children living in the other nations. I figured the Avatar had been born to nonbenders and may not have even realized he or she came from Air Nation lineage and never thought to try airbending."

"They told us we were all airbenders because we were more spiritual," Aang muttered. Selective breeding was nothing special.

"Yeah, that's a fib," Chao told him. His grandfather was proof of the selective breeding.

"I used to wonder if you were an airbender," Azula admitted to Ty Lee.

"You never told me that."

"You would have been executed."

"Oh right."

"By the time we were twelve, I just accepted you had superhuman jumping ability."

* * *

While the people were getting to know one another inside, Appa was playing with other sky bison for the first time in over a century. He already had his eye on one that he thought was cute, but it seemed he would have some competition for her affections from another stud. Both males puffed out their chests. Let the games begin!

The two bulls squared up. They made a roaring sound in the air before butting heads.

"What is that sound?" Aang questioned.

"Two studs battling for a mate," Ling told him. "It happens all the time."

"Is that Appa?" Ty Lee questioned when she looked out the window.

They looked and "he's kicking butt!" Ling told them.

"I didn't think they would get so violent over this," Aang admitted.

"I guess they're just like people that way," Chao told him. "Actually, they get over it much faster than people do. It might be easier if we butted heads to solve disputes and then just called it a day."

Once Appa won his show of dominance, he went and lied down at the feet of the girl he liked.

She grinned, but it wouldn't be that easy.

"Oh she's playing hard to get," the mother told them. "This might take a few days."

"Which means, we can go dragon searching in the meanwhile!" Azula was excited for this.

"Why did Azulon try to kill all the dragons?" Aang asked her.

Azula actually didn't know.

"Actually it was Sozin," Chao told them. "The dragons helped the sky bison get away from the genocide, and he considered it a betrayal. Even his own dragon turned on him."

"The dragons were considered sacred before then," Azula said. "If the people knew the dragons were opposed, many wouldn't have supported the war. There would have been mutiny left and right."

"So he killed them by making it a sport."

"And I'm going to bring them back."

The family had plenty of bunkers in case the Fire Nation attacked. The guests were able to stay in one of them, which meant they didn't have to go back to their campsite until daylight.

"A bed," Katara said happily as she stretched out.

"Is your back feeling better?"

"Yeah. That was a good hit."

"I'm glad I had armor in that fight."

"Why didn't you just let Qiu fight?"

"I knew he wasn't a threat. Sure he's dangerously good, but he only wanted to survive. I could see it in his eyes. I thought the casualty risk was too high if I let her fight. She's trained to defend me, and if she's unsure, she'll go for the kill."

Katara nuzzled up against her wife. "Try to keep perilous fighting to a minimum."

"I'll try," not that Azula had ever made such a promise before.

"I don't want you getting hurt."

"I know, but admit it. It's pretty hot seeing me fight."

"You're so cocky."

"Doesn't mean it's not true."

Katara kissed her to shut her up.

"I knew it."

* * *

The next day, Appa was still trying to win his lady's favor. He reluctantly flew them back to the campsite so they could pack up.

"You'll be back soon," Aang told him.

The sky bison grunted. Easy for you to say, you're not the virgin.

They got back to the sky bison farm and Appa summarily ditched them.

"Someone's found love," Ty Lee said.

"Or he's sick of being a virgin," Azula chuckled.

Ty Lee glared at her.

"What? He's been a virgin for over 100 years. I'm sure he's got plenty of wild oats."

Ling had never seen a dragon himself. He had only heard about them from his cousins who live up north.

"I bet my cousin Jie knows where they are."

Ling took Azula, Katara and Qiu up to look for dragons. Aang and Ty Lee stayed to help Chao with the sky bison and learn more about the airbenders and airbending. Aang didn't realize how much he hadn't known.

"They banned the more aggressive forms of airbending to try and prevent duels. Before they selectively bred, there would be vicious fights for mates, some of them fatal.

Unfortunately, this left our people defenseless when the Fire Nation attacked. My grandfather taught himself how to airbend from scrolls he managed to copy from Omashu University. He taught my dad who taught my siblings and me and we taught our children everything. We never knew if we'd be found and have to fight.

Chao explained how to make a typhoon. "You can turn your airbending into a razor if you can change directions quickly enough."

Chao picked up a leaf with his airbending and cut it in half with a tiny gust of wind.

They had developed all kinds of airbending techniques in their "underground" society from methods of attack to oxygenating the soil for their fruit trees. "We grow our own food." He showed them the moon peach trees and the apple trees. They also grew rice and soy in several smaller plots so it wouldn't be noticeable within the groves of trees. They didn't want the crops to give them away.

In their cellar, they juiced and fermented the apples and the moon peaches, making cider and wine respectively. They also made rice wine, but that was usually for cooking.

They hunted to supplement their diets in the months that their produce was low. They kept careful count of how many creatures were in the forest, so they didn't overhunt, "Everything's connected. If we had overhunted, we would have thrown off the entire ecosystem."

"Do you ever make fruit pies?"

"I love fruit pies!"

They had an afternoon project.

Ling's sky bison was like Ling. Distrustful at first, but he came to realize his passengers were friends not foes.

* * *

When they got to the house, however, a woman yelled "Fire Nation" and started running.

"Jie you punk ass bitch get over here," Ling yelled as he ran after his cousin. The whole family had scattered.

Even with Azula's armor in her bag, she was too obvious.

"It's your eyes," Katara said. They were gold and quite distinctive.

"Ling! You're here. We gotta run."

"They're my friends you butt!"

"What? You drinking crazy juice?"

"They came with the Avatar. They're trying to …"

"They came with the AVATAR!"

She ran to look. "Where is he?"

"He and his girlfriend are with my Dad."

"Let down!" she shoved his arm. "So who are these people?"

"Princess Azula, her wife Princess Katara, and their bodyguard Qiu."

"Imagine that! So what are y'all doing in my neck of the woods?"

She offered them some apple brandy, but they weren't looking to get drunk, at least not this early in the day.

Jie poured some for herself. "Y'all looking for dragons. Usually, we stay out of their way."

"I was hoping to preserve the ones that are left, start a breeding program."

"You want to breed those fiery suckers. Good luck with that. When they are pregnant, they are mean! One dragon almost set my sky bison on fire while we were flying by."

"Flying by or loitering in its cave."

"I didn't know it was a dragon cave."

"Wasn't it hot?"

"Shut up!"

"Fool!"

"Ass!"

Their demeanor showed they did not grow up in the temples, even if nothing else would have. They were quite amusing.

Jie took their map and marked where she had last seen a dragon. "If y'all get a move on, you might find one before they head out hunting."

"Thanks Jie."

They took off for the caves.

"Do you actually know how to tame a dragon?" Katara asked her wife.

"Sort of. I've heard the legends. You have to get them to respect your flame, but no one taught me how for obvious reasons."

Katara wished she had brought more than one waterskin, like maybe a stream's worth of water.

They got to the caves and Ling's sky bison didn't want to go any further.

"He's probably too smart to go in there, unlike Jie's sky bison."

The girls thanked him and started to hike around. It was like a matrix of caves and there could have been a dragon in any of them.

"I hope we don't plan on searching them all," Katara said as she looked. It was quite beautiful, but that would take days.

"Dragons give off a heat signature," Qiu answered. "If they're home, we should be able to sense them with our heatbending."

* * *

Azula went with Katara since she lacked the sense and Qiu went the other way.

Qiu felt a general warm spot, but she couldn't find the dragon. She tagged the tree and made her way back to the starting point.

After another 20 minutes, Azula and Katara came back too.

"We didn't find anything," Azula admitted.

"I found a warm spot, but the dragon wasn't there."

"Maybe it went out for lunch?" Katara suggested.

They headed back.

Azula could feel the warmth still, even though it had been a while since the dragon had been here. "It must be a powerful dragon. This spot is still warm and it wasn't here for at least an hour."

Qiu started climbing a tree, trying to see if she could spot the flying creature.

"I don't see any …" A breath of very warm air hit her back. She felt a dragon. Her instincts took over as she shimmied down the tree as quickly as possible. The dragon was right on her tail.

She went away from Azula and Katara as per her training and tried to tame the dragon itself. Remembering what the Princess had taught her, she kept her hands close and projected her flame forward.

The dragon was huge, blue, and angry that it's home had been encroached upon by busybodies. It sent a flame, blasting Qiu into a tree.

When Azula and Katara turned around, they saw Qiu missing and the dragon looming.

Azula charged, warning Katara to stay back. Of course, the waterbender didn't listen, not wanting to leave her wife alone.

"Princess, I'm down." Her arm was broken, and she wasn't sure if she could get up. "Save yourself while you can!"

Azula refused. "Didn't the navy ever teach you that you never leave a man behind?"

Azula threw a flame at the dragon, distracting it from Qiu. "If you want to rumble, turn around."

The dragon turned. _Who is this cocky bitch?_

It sent a powerful blast at the princess. She countered and then she threw a flame behind her to vault herself up and into a tree. They played a game of bearded cat and pigeon mouse, dancing from tree to tree, turning the limbs Azula had been standing on into ash.

Katara started to mend Qiu's arm.

"Why aren't you protecting her?"

"How?" Katara questioned. Her water would last maybe half a second against that dragon and she couldn't jump from tree to tree. "If anything I'd distract her. You, on the other hand, I can help."

She set the girl's arm. She winced, but she didn't cry. "We have some pain killers back with Ling," she said. For now, Katara could only try to block the pain with her bending.

Orange and blue flames collided in the sky. Even Ling could see them from where he sat with his sky bison. This was an epic fight.

The Princess's armor protected her from serious burns but she was getting cuts and scrapes as she went flying through the trees like a lemur monkey. If she survived, she needed to thank Ty Lee for her training. Without it, she would have died right away.

The dragon was gaining on Azula. Instead of running away anymore, she ran right towards it. The dragon opened its mouth, trapping Azula inside, but as Azula knew, humans tasted awful. Their armor was even worse. The dragon promptly spit her out making a retching noise.

Azula was covered in dragon mucus but unperturbed. "So we've decided you won't eat me. Maybe you'll let me tame you instead?"

She was so fucking arrogant.

On the ground below them, Katara was trying to get Qiu back to the base camp. "You would have made it already if you had left without me."

"And what, let you get eaten?"

"It's my job."

"Your job is to protect her. It might kill you. It doesn't mean you have to sacrifice yourself at every turn. We'd prefer it you if live too." They just started to get up to the hill when the dragons saw them. It wanted to know what Azula would do and charged right at them.

Azula ran before she jumped off the cliff she had been standing on. She used her firebending to accelerate her descent and then slid down the cliff face, landing right in front of her wife and her bodyguard. "You want them, you have to go through me."

The dragon was curious as to why the woman was so protective of a water tribe girl and an injured guard. She decided to stand down.

_You were ready to sacrifice yourself for them, why?_

Azula didn't realize dragons could speak telepathically. _Katara's my wife, and Qiu's my friend._

_Your people have a lot to answer for._

_I know. I would know more than most. Princess Azula at your service._

_It is I who serve you. Xiao Long._

Neither Katara nor Qiu knew exactly what was happening, but Azula and the dragon had reached some kind of understanding.

"Katara, Qiu, meat Xiao Long."

They got aboard and flew back to their starting point.

Ling couldn't see the rest of the fight. He did, however, see a dragon flying towards him, the three girls on her back.

"Wow!" They actually did it. He half expected the dragon to eat the princess.

"Ling, this is Xiao Long."

"My cousin is gonna flip!"

They returned to Jie's house. Jie came outside just to say, "Hey that's the dragon who tried to eat my sky bison."

_I wasn't trying to eat the bison. I just wanted her to fly away. She has a horrid singing voice._

Azula laughed at Xiao's explanation. "As long as you don't sing around her, I think you'll be fine."

"Can we meet the Avatar now? Can we? Can we?" Jie asked like a little kid.

She got her sky bison ready, and they hit the skies.

Ty Lee had fun sampling the cider and the wine they made. Aang politely declined.

"Raised not to drink in the temple?"

"Yeah. Then I went on a bender."

"Ah, the Air Nation used to make lots of booze. It started off as an accident when one of the nomads left his pressed cider out for too long. They realized they could make alcohol and started producing it intentionally. They used to sell it to support the temples, and the profit would go to charity.

Unfortunately, they had so much fun with it that they became rather reckless. The Nomads started preaching against drunkenness because there were so many accidents. I can't say I blame them. People had fallen off the side of the temple they were so drunk, but I think the wiser lesson would have been to teach moderation."

It was odd to think of the Air Nomads as being the descendants of drunks, but it did help explain how Aang took to it so easily despite his teachings. It also explains why they taught abstinence.

Chao's wife had come home. She and Ty Lee were making fruit pies. Well, she was doing most of the assembly while Ty Lee kneaded the dough. Even drunk, she could do that easily.

"You're really good at making pies," Ty Lee told her.

"When you live with two airbenders, you get used to making a lot of fruit pies. Ling can eat one in a sitting, and he'll go looking for more!"

"I guess I better learn," Ty Lee said.

"Always hide one for yourself or you'll never get any."

She revealed a perfectly made fruit pie, which she hid from her husband and son.

Ty Lee giggled. They just got the next batch out the oven when the heard yelling.

"OH MY SPIRITS IT'S THE AVATAR!" Jie ran straight at him, taking Aang by surprised when she hugged him. "We thought you'd never get here. My cousins and I took bets on if you'd ever show up! They owe me 3 fruit pies!"

"Jie calm yourself," her Uncle Chao told her.

Ty Lee came out, puzzled as to why this girl was draped on her boyfriend.

"Was it like this when you two went out?" Azula asked Katara.

"All the time."

"Ah. I can see why you reacted the way you did to Uma."

"We found a dragon," Azula said to Ty Lee, temporarily distracting her from Jie.

"Oh, she's so pretty!" Ty Lee rubbed her scales. "What's her name?"

"Xiao Long."

"Aw, she's perfect. I can't wait until she's a mom and there are baby dragons and …"

_Babies! No one told me about any babies!_

_It's not like we were going to stud you tomorrow. You'll find a mate when you're ready._

Xiao Long frowned.

* * *

When the boys learned there were fruit pies, they all ran inside. Ling made off with a moon peach pie. Aang had an apple pie, and Jie and Chao split one of each.

"You weren't kidding," Ty Lee said as the airbenders feasted.

Chao's wife tiptoed away with an apple pie. "This is why I hide one."

The women shared the pie and it was "absolutely delicious!" Azula had fruit pies before, but this one was in a league of it's own. "I bet you could win a baking contest with these."

"They have those?" Jie questioned.

"Oh yes. They do a giant baking contest on the summer solstice in Capital City."

"There's also the Avatar Day in Chin Village," Ty Lee mentioned.

"Oh, they made good pies," Aang remembered. It had been a few weeks before their trip. "Although this one was exquisite."

"I use a secret spice blend," Chao's wife revealed.

"It tastes like the spices in the cider."

Outside, Appa was still courting his lady friend. He picked some apples for her. She let him nuzzle against her, but it wasn't her mating time just yet. They were cute together.

She had grown up with the other sky bison, so mating with them seemed rather odd. Appa was different from the rest. He had this quiet confidence to him when the others were more boisterous.

"How long are y'all staying?" Jie asked them.

Aang wasn't sure. "I think Appa's still courting."

"Oh she won't be ready for breeding for at least a few days," Chao said of the female sky bison.

"Y'all should meet the rest of us. We should throw a party!"

Ling shook his head. "Every family party we've ever thrown has been a drunken mess!"

"YES!" Azula cheered.

"Stupid," Katara retorted.

"We can show you our dance moves. I made them up myself."

"Is that why you look like you got struck by lightening when you dance?" Ling teased.

"Up your ass!"

"Yours first!"

"Behave," Chao chided.

"Azula is a great dancer," Ty Lee told them.

"Let's have a dance off!"

"Oh it's on!"

They started planning a party to have in three days time figuring out where it would be, food, drinks and of course music.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mai had her first fitting for her wedding dress. "I can't move in this!"

"But it looks so nice," her mother told her.

"Can't it have room for my waist?"

"Maybe you should go on a diet."

Mai frowned. "Why isn't Ty Lee here?" What kind of maid of honor is she?

Mai's mother found some corsets she could use to fit in the dress. Mai needed a cocktail after this.

"But alcohol packs on the pounds!"

"Make it a double!" she told the servant.

Zuko was bored doing the seating chart with Iroh. Why did he agree to help? Actually, he didn't agree. Mai handed it to him and ran way.

"Each table holds 12 people, so we should start with the main table and work our way down. Obviously you and Mai, me, Azula and Katara, Mai's parents, is there going to be a kids' table because Tom Tom would likely be bored with us."

"UGH!" Zuko groaned.

"We'll figure him out later. Are the maid of honor and best man sitting with you? What about their dates?"

"Well, Aang is Ty Lee's date, so he might want to sit with his temple. I'll have to ask him. Sokka is my best man and he and Suki are…" Would they sit with his tribe or the warriors?

"Find out about them and let's go on to the next table."

Zuko wanted to cry.

He got no sympathy from his fiancée when they met that evening.

"At least no one is trying to squeeze you into a dress that's two sizes too small."

"Why not just get a bigger dress?"

"Because my mother is evil!"

Zuko wished his mother were coming. "I still have no idea where my mother is."

"Have you tried her side of the family?"

"She was an only child and her parents died a long time ago."

Mai wasn't sure what to do next. "You said she worked as an actress? Maybe some of the people from her old theatre know where she went."

"It's worth a shot." He had tried private investigators, bounty hunters, no one could seem to find her."

They would be married in two months. He wondered if he could find her in time.

* * *

Iroh decided to try visiting his brother to see if he could learn where Ursa had gone. "You look old," Ozai said bluntly. His years were showing in his face.

"Can't say you look like a spring komodo chicken either," Iroh retorted. Ozai clearly didn't get much sunlight. He look sunken in and deathly pale.

"What did you come here for? To bore me with one of your metaphors."

"I came to ask you where Ursa is."

"What makes you think that I know or that I would tell you?"

"You don't have anything to gain by hiding her."

"I don't have anything to lose either. Assuming I did know where she was, aren't you curious as to how come she didn't come home? She must know that her darling son is Fire Lord. Maybe she moved on. Maybe she had better children."

Iroh knew it was hopeless, but he tried to appeal to Ozai's emotions. "Out of all of the things you put your son through, you could at least help him…"

"Don't give me that shit. Your son is dead because of you. At least my kids are breathing."

Iroh quickly turned angry. "Don't fuck with me Ozai!"

"What are you going to do? Zuko is strong because I made him to be. If it weren't for me, he'd be dead."

"You think you made him strong by burning his face."

"I taught him what happens when you beg for mercy from someone who has none to give. Sometimes you have to learn to stand up and fight. He wouldn't have learned that without me."

Iroh was not impressed. "I taught him more than you ever could."

"Then why was he in fear for his life for most of his first year on the throne? People tried to kill him left and right. He was so desperate he went to the loony bin to get this sister out because she was the only one who could protect him. She's fierce because I taught her to be. She's the monster who keeps the bigger monsters away, and without her, Zuko would be in a pine box in an unmarked grave.

For all that you claimed to teach Zuko, you didn't teach him how to survive. You think you would have learned that after your first mistake. Maybe you just like getting sons killed."

Having reached the limit of his patience, Iroh threw a vicious fireball right at his brother. Ozai simply caught it and threw it back. "I can't generate my own flame anymore, but I can take control of yours."

Ozai taught himself how to do this in his cell.

"So you can try to kill me, but I guarantee you that if I die, you're dying with me. Is that what you want? To join your son?"

Iroh stormed out. Harrowing laughter filled the room. Iroh was just too easy. Like Zuko, he would go off when he didn't get his way. Iroh was better at suppressing his temper, but Ozai always knew how to get under his older brother's skin.

Iroh quickly regretted coming to the prison. He should have realized there was no getting through to his fallen younger brother.

* * *

AN: In the teaser for this story, there's an explanation as to why Azula likes puppies so much.


	17. Chapter 17

The next three days were spent getting ready for the party. They put up lights around the clearing in the forest. Azula got what she needed to make red bean buns and egg tarts. Chao's wife got ready for what would be a massive pie bake off and they would have tofu stir fry and lots of fried veggies.

Jie and her brothers brought their brandy, which was sure to knock people right on their butts. Along with the cider and the wine, this was going to be a raucous affair.

Aang earthbended stone tables and chairs. He also made a dance platform. Anyone who had an instrument brought it for what was going to be an improvisational musical performance.

Xiao Long watched curiously as all of the people got ready for this big party. The dragons were not such a communal species. If they had masters, they followed along with their master's lifestyle. The girls fussed over what to wear, none of them had packed for a celebration. The guys were just wearing whatever they had on and the sky bison were having their own party.

Chao's wife greeted her family members as they arrived, and they headed towards the back!

They brought food and drink to add to the bountiful amount they already had. "I can't believe it's really him!"

Everyone wanted to see the Avatar. The war had been over for almost five years, but they weren't quite sure what would happen if they came out of hiding, so they didn't.

Like the Air Nomads in the pictures, he was bald and had his master tattoos. None of them, for obvious reasons, had tattoos and they all had hair, whether it be black or brown. They did, for the most part, have grey eyes.

"Did these hurt?" one asked of the tattoos as he poked Aang's forehead.

"A little bit, but they healed pretty fast."

They had all kinds of questions about what the Air Temples were like before the war.

"You should visit," he offered. "The Southern Air Temple is redone and the Eastern Air Temple is almost redone. There are refugees from the Earth Kingdom living in the Northern Air Temple, and the Western Air Temple is still rubble."

Aang started telling them about the acolytes and his attempts to preserve the Air Nation culture for the future generations.

Ling asked if the acolytes were hot.

Jie smacked his head.

"What? If they were dudes, you'd want to know if they were hot."

"Lies!"

"Then why did you ask me if Aang was hot before we got here?"

"Shut up!"

As the sun went down, the lights came on. Blue flames allowed everyone to see as they started eating and drinking.

Jie called out Azula in front of everyone. "I'm totally going to win the dance contest! Princess ain't got shit on me."

Azula didn't speak. Instead, she just threw shade and started sipping on her hard cider.

After they finished dinner, the "band" started to play. They had pan flutes, drums and maracas. They were also drunk and couldn't seem to get in sync.

Azula's dragon was not happy with the noise and sent a warning plume in the air.

Azula had to play conductor in order to keep the peace. "How about I start a beat on the drums and you all follow me?"

She took the drumsticks and started with an easy tune she learned from school. One by one, people joined the tune, and eventually it sounded like they were playing the same song.

Once they sounded respectable, Azula handed over the drumsticks to his owner and found her wife.

She had been explaining to some of the airbenders how she can heal with water.

"She fixed my arm," Qiu showed them where it had been broken just a few days before.

"She can even fix people who got struck by lightening," Azula bragged.

"You're the one who struck them," Katara retorted.

"Then isn't it a good thing that we're married."

Katara pouted before Azula kissed her nose.

"You killed the Avatar?"

"Allegedly."

"No he was dead. Yue brought him back."

"I thought you saved him."

"I saved his body but I didn't know how to get him out of the spirit world. She had to do that and restore the Avatar cycle, which you broke."

"Well he shouldn't have turned around."

"It's true. She caught me with my pants down."

Everyone laughed.

"I meant metaphorically."

"Sure you did," Azula teased.

"That would have been a very different battle if he didn't have pants."

"I kept having nightmares about fighting Ozai and for some reason forgetting to put on pants."

"You know, it was your pants that saved the day," Azula told him.

"Haha."

People started to dance. Azula and Katara hit the floor. "I'm so glad we're not at the palace right now," Azula said.

"Why not?"

"We'd be stuck helping to plan Mai's wedding. No thanks."

"Is that why you wanted to come?"

Azula shrugged. "I can really only take Iroh in small doses, and it seemed like he planned on staying until the wedding, so I decided I needed a vacation."

"And almost getting yourself killed in two battles is vacation."

"Yeah."

"You're crazy."

"You knew that." Azula spun her around.

Ty Lee stole Aang from the other guests. "Dance with me."

"Always," Ty Lee fit in his arms so perfectly. It took him the longest time to notice her, but now that he has, it's like there never was anyone else.

* * *

In Republic City, Yakone was still mentally stagnated. After about a year of treatment, he finally understood that his mother was not coming to care for him. He would play with his toys and enjoyed having stories read to him, but he could not read.

"Read me!" An aide sat along side him and read him a story about a woman who made fruit tarts for all the boys and girls in the neighborhood.

The aides who cared for him were heartbroken when they saw a grown man reduced to the capacity of a toddler, but when they learned of his crimes, they thought it best that he was benevolent now.

"In a twist of fate, his evilness was destroyed. He does not know what it means to try and take control of another person, to rob them of their sanctity."

It seemed wrong to prefer a grown man to be a child, but he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone anymore, well at least not intentionally.

The rehabilitation center that was treating him had just managed to get access to his protected trust. They had been caring for him for eight months at this point, hoping that they would somehow get remuneration.

Unfortunately, they really had no idea what these assets were worth or how to get the best price for them. Unsure of whom to ask, they reached out to Yakone's former business partner for help.

He offered to have the company buy back Yakone's interest of the company and to pay the hospital in coin.

When they heard how much they could get, they readily accepted the deal, unaware that the assets they had sold were easily worth twice what they had been paid. All they knew was that they had enough to care for him for life, as it was unlikely that anyone would ever claim him.

The plan had worked out for the company almost as well as they had intended. They had expected Katara to kill him, and to try to break into the protected trust right away. It was Yakone's business partner who sent the taxi carriage away. He had been waiting for Katara to leave and when she did, he suggested to Yakone that they tag team her, offering him the first go.

When Katara spared his life, however, he had no choice but to give Yakone the aneurysm, hoping it would kill him on the spot. Of course, the goodie two shoes went to get him help and he lived. It was no matter now; they had Yakone's money. They already bribed the wife and she vowed never to return to Republic City or to mention anything about Yakone. She even said she'd change the baby's name, hoping no one made the connection.

Yakone's business partners moved forward with their plans to get a larger foothold in Republic City. They had been setting up legitimate businesses all over the city and soon, these would become fronts for whatever would sell in the black market.

They would be rich, many times over, and even though it was Yakone's plan they were executing, he would never see a dime of it. He always said to get rid of those who are expendable. He never thought his wife and gang would decide he had outlived his usefulness.

Yakone had two sons, with two different mothers. He would never know either of them. Their mothers could only hope their sons grew up to be nothing like him.

Appa's crush had finally accepted him as a mate. She had been nervous about her first mating but he was a gentle sky bison. They lied side by side when it was over. Like a man, he fell asleep right afterwards.

The night was still young at the party. People were drinking, telling stories and dancing the night away.

They already had their first round of pies. There were a few rounds, so they didn't eat themselves sick on the first go. It's happened before. When the bell rang, however, it wasn't for more pies; it was for the dance contest.

"Boogie Down!" Jie called as she got to the middle of the floor. She spun around and started to do her jig, which did look like she had been struck by lightening. Her moves were certainty enthusiastic as she as she shook and spun all over the place.

"Is she having a seizure?" Azula questioned of Jie.

She was having fun and isn't that what dancing is all about. She broke it down when she started doing the worm on the floor. She jumped up and took a bow at the end of the song.

Her family applauded and cheered drunkenly.

"Now here comes the challenger, Princess Azula."

Azula took her hair out of her topknot. She decided to set a more playful tone.

"Can you give me a fast jam?"

The crowd cheered as the band nodded. She started with her hands on her hips and started to swing them back and forth.

Suddenly, she started clapping over her head. She dropped down and did a body roll before she started twisting and turning before the audience. Her hand reached her forehead as she turned from side to side.

Her moves were sultry and her limbs all did different movements, but they felt apart of the same whole.

"She's kicking yo' ass," Ling told his cousin.

"Shut up!"

If her body movements weren't enough to win, her footwork was. She moved quickly and she never seemed out of place. There were times when her body stopped moving and it was just her feet prancing around.

"How did she learn to do all that?" Aang asked Ty Lee.

"We went to these parties where these dance crews would perform. We both learned some moves from them, but Azula took better to it than I did." Most people would be surprised by this revelation, since Ty Lee was so in tune with her body. When it came to physical athleticism, she had Azula beat, but dancing was about passion more than anything else, and Azula's inner flame was untouchable.

When she took a bow, she got a thunderous applause and Jie ceded the contest.

"I must say, you know how to boogie!"

"I've been to my fair share of dance offs. Usually as an observer though."

After that feat, the next round of pies came out and the party continued.

The refugees in the Earth Kingdom were nice, but they didn't feel like Aang's people in the same way that these airbenders did. He had just met most of them, but he hoped that they could find away to modernize the Air Nation culture together. He was impressed by how much they had learned from scrolls, especially since they were crude copies that their patriarch had made as a scared teenager.

They adapted the leanings to fit the world they knew. He had to learn how to do the same.

He just polished off his second fruit pie. Now it was his time to dance, airbender fusion style!

Once he started airbending, all of the airbenders did and they were dancing in the air and on the floor. It was a crazy maze of people, but it was awesome.

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Azula vaulted herself into the air.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Jie asked her.

"Hmm, I'm still trying to figure out how to procreate without a male."

"Can't help you there."

She doubted anyone could, but it was the one thing she thought her life was missing, not a child, she wasn't even 20 yet, but the ability to make one without brotherly assistance. The idea of Zuko going anywhere near Katara like that made her want to hurl. Likewise, she would never sleep with Sokka, or any other man. She'd be keener to steal a child than sleep with a man.

This is what a family should feel like, Ty Lee thought as she danced. She couldn't imagine her family having any kind of party like this one. They were Aang's cousins in a way and suddenly, the prospect of marrying into this family seemed very appealing.

She threw her arms around Aang's neck and kissed him.

"What was that for?" He asked happily.

"Just because."

"Well in that case," He picked her up and spun her around bridal style as she laughed.

A burst of fire hit the sky. Xiao Long decided to share her own dance with the crowd. Everyone stopped what he or she was doing and watched.

For Azula, it was a humbling experience to see her Nation's sacred animal, a descendant of the dragon that made her flame possible, dance. It was like the truth behind her fire had suddenly been revealed to her. She knew how to firebend. She was the best and she knew how to love, but they came together in a new way right now.

_Why'd everyone stop partying?_

_They were enjoying your dance._

_Well dance on!_

"Xiao Long says dance on!"

The party resumed and went late into the night. Some people relied on their sky bison to get them home. Others crashed where they could and decided to leave the flight for tomorrow.

Aang used his airbending to help clean up before he went to bed. He was sober enough to realize how much work they'd have tomorrow if they didn't take care of the trash tonight. It would likely blow away in the wind and much of it already had from their airbending.

* * *

Two days later, they decided it was time to go home. Aang had to check if there was any correspondence for him, Ty Lee needed to get back to the island and Katara had to get ready for her new waterbending class.

Azula said, "Well all good things come to an end."

They got ready to take off, but some wanted to join their party.

"Take me with you!" Ling ran out with his bag.

He had spent the last two days trying to convince his parents he was old enough to leave home. He had never lived anywhere else and it was time for him to see the world.

"Also, think about how much I could teach about airbending." They could teach people how to use natural power and how to preserve their resources.

Chao's parents were going to miss him, but it was time for him to learn how to make it on his own.

Appa's girlfriend also wanted to come.

"You thought you'd be able to hit it and quit it," Azula teased the sky bison.

Katara smacked her arm, and Appa frowned in confusion.

They now had a second airbender and a second sky bison in their party.

They were about to take off when they heard a dragon.

A red male came along with pleading eyes.

"He wants to come too?" Katara questioned.

"Who is he?" Aang asked.

Azula asked her dragon.

_Kip is this fool who likes me._

_AW!_

_Don't aw me!_

_"Maybe you two could go on a date."_

_"I will throw you off me."_

_"Maybe Zuko will like him."_

_"I'm going to regret this." _She looked at Kip_. "Fine you can come!"_

He shot out a plume of fire in celebration.

The four creatures took off for the sky. It wasn't long before they went their separate ways. The palace was southwest. The Southern Air Temple was almost pure south, but Kyoshi Island was southeast. The dragons went southwest, and the sky bison went southeast. They would drop off Ty Lee before going to the temple.

Aang wanted to be there to introduce Ling to the girls.

It was evening by the time the three girls made it to the Fire Nation. Azula was tired. Her body took its first good lickings since the war ended and they were on back-to-back days. Add a dance party on top of that and some bunker sex and you have one sleepy Princess.

"I think I should go to bed."

"We didn't even have dinner," Katara told her.

"I'm tired."

"I told you, but you wanted to last night anyway."

"Victory sex is always awesome!"

"I don't want to know," Zuko told them in the hallway.

"We brought you a present."

"Why am I scared?"

"It's a good present. Isn't it Tara?"

"I think so."

Mai was sitting outside on her pavilion when she saw a dragon looking at her.

"Um, you're a dragon." How was that the only thing I could say right now?

_Your friend Mai is a genius._

_Are you scaring her?_

_All I did was fly up to her. I think she thinks I'm going to eat her._

_Don't harm her, but you can tease her._

Xiao Long smirked as she sniffed Mai. "Yummm!"

Mai's eyes got huge and she into her the bedroom and down the hall screaming, "ZUKO!"

_That was too easy!_

"ZUKO!"

"What is it Mai?"

She ran to him before he could find her. "There's a …"

"A …."

"Dragon outside your pavilion."

"WHAT!"

"Did you just meet Xiao Long? She's my dragon."

Mai flipped her off. "You sent her to scare me, didn't you?"

"No, she did that on her own."

"You brought a dragon?" Zuko questioned.

"Actually, I brought two. Kip is your dragon, well if he will accept you."

A servant came. "Kip keeps trying to eat the barn animals."

Zuko shook his head and headed outside. "KIP! Don't do that!"

"At least my dragon's not an idiot," Azula chuckled.

Mai grunted at her.

"It's not my fault Xiao Long has a sense of humor."

"How about I stick my foot up your ass?

"I didn't know you were into foot play."

"EW!" Mai yelled as she stormed off.

"Foot play?" Katara questioned.

"Am I the only one who thinks that phrase sounds sexual?"

Katara shook her head. "I think we do need to go to bed."

"Kinky!"

"To sleep!"

"AW!"

Katara took her wife to bed. Azula still sounded drunk from the night before, but this was just sleep deprivation.

Qiu made sure Kip didn't eat any of the animals until Zuko got outside.

"These animals are for work. You can't eat them."

_Where do I go eat?_

_You can talk to my mind?_

_Yeah. I'm Kip._

_I'm Zuko, and you can eat at the royal hunting grounds. It's about 5km northwest of here._

_Cool! How come you're all dressed up?_

_These are my normal clothes._

_Are you like a diplomat or something?_

_I'm the Fire Lord._

_Really?_

_Did you not know this was the palace?_

_I didn't know where we were going. I just followed Xiao Long._

_You two are friends._

_Sort of. I love her, but she thinks I'm a pest._

Zuko didn't realize dragons fell in love. _This happened to a friend of mine._

_Is this going to be a sappy it worked for them so it can work for you story?_

_No. She never returned his affections. She fell in love with someone else, and it took him a while to get over it. Once he did, however, he fell in love with a different girl who loves him back. Try your best, but don't give up hope if she says no in the end. _

_I kind of wish it was a sappy it worked for them so it can work for you story._

_Maybe next time._

Kip went to go eat.

Zuko found his fiancée in their bedroom.

"Azula's dragon would get off by scaring people."

Zuko shook his head. "Kip is sweet."

"Your dragon's name is Kip? It sounds like the name of a stupid boy who works on a dock."

Zuko shrugged. "I don't know who names them."

"Well, I can meet him tomorrow. I've had enough dragon for today."

Iroh learned of the dragons when he came to dinner.

"Guess what Azula brought back."

"Um a sky bison?" Isn't that where she went?

"No. Two dragons."

Iroh's eyes got wide. "Where did she find dragons?"

"She didn't say, but they are young dragons. They must have been in the wild somewhere."

"She tamed them both?"

"She tamed Xiao Long, well allegedly. Kip followed her for love."

"Dragons fall in love?"

"Apparently, this one did. Xiao Long not amused."

"But Azula brought him here anyway."

"He's a present, apparently."

"If so, she's not getting us a wedding present," Mai told him.

"Oh, that'll show her," Zuko teased.

"I thought Xiao Long was going to eat me!"

"Her dragon likes to troll people. Agni forsook us!"

It was late when Aang and Ling got Ty Lee to the warrior house. They decided to stay overnight instead of flying for two more hours on tired sky bison. Aang shared Ty Lee's room with her while Ling stayed on the couch.

"Who is he?" Suki asked them when he came into the house.

"He's an airbender. His family raises sky bison."

"You're not the only one?" He must not be, but this is so unexpected

"They've been preserving the Air Nation in the Earth Kingdom, well now United Republic."

"Welcome Ling. We don't have any extra beds but we have a couch."

"Oh I'll be fine. Thanks for letting me stay Suki."

Aang was ready to go to bed.

"I'll meet you there," Ty Lee said.

Suki wanted to hear about this trip. "So how was it?"

"Oh it was so much fun. We found Ling's father first. He ran from us because he saw Azula's armor and …"

"She wore her armor?"

"In case she ran into a dragon, and she did tame one the next day."

"She found a dragon."

"Two!"

"So you got dragons and …"

"Appa found a girlfriend. Ling flew her back. He's going to help Aang restore the Air Nation."

Suki and Ty Lee got used to talking to each other late at night. They both had boyfriends who were a ways away. The other girls were either single or dating someone on the island.

"It was nice being away with him, even if we did have unexpected guests."

"I can't believe Azula just showed up."

"She thought I invited her, which I should have anticipated. She either picks up on things that I didn't intend or misses the obvious."

"Like what."

"Like Katara liking her. She didn't perceive six months of flirting. Katara kissed her before Azula got the hint."

"You noticed Katara flirting."

"Azula figured she was wishfully thinking, and it wasn't really flirting. She misses the obvious."

"Like you and Aang planned on going alone."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have found the dragons if she hadn't come. Also, she won the dance contest."

"Well you need someone to win that."

"Exactly."

* * *

Azula woke up at 11 and she was hungry. She sent for a servant to bring dinner to her suite.

Katara was still asleep, but she woke up when the roast komodo chicken was ready.

"That smells delicious."

"It's why I got two portions. Let's eat."

Katara slid over to the table and started to eat. "It's nice to have meat again."

"Yeah, their house was fun, but I really wanted char siu bao the whole time."

"We should do dim sum this weekend."

"Now you're talking."

They ate and then brushed their teeth before climbing back into bed.

"Now that we have a dragon, we could fly back to the tribe before the wedding."

Azula did not want any more snow, but she said, "sure."

"Are you just saying that?"

"No," Azula told her, carefully. "Flying will cut down on travel time which would make a short tip more practicable. It just might be a tight fit between when your class gets out for the summer and the wedding."

"I know, but I want to spend more time with my Gran Gran while I still can."

"I know. We'll go next month."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

"Definitely."

* * *

Aang could have stayed in bed with Ty Lee all day, but Ling wanted to get to the temple, and Suki wanted Ty Lee to get to work.

"This is where we part ways," Aang kissed her goodbye before he got on Appa.

She hoped she saw him before the wedding, but it was impossible to say right now. Avatar stuff always came at the last minute.

Two hours later, Aang and Ling landed at the Southern Air Temple.

"It's gorgeous," Ling said, way fancier than any home he'd ever seen.

"Just wait until we get in side.

"Xing Ying, Won-Yee, Yee-Li I brought a friend."

The girls ran out. "Aang you're home!" Each girl hugged him.

"Oh, you brought another sky bison!"

"You brought another man," another girl smiled.

"I'm Ling at your service."

"What can you do?"

He did a giant flip with his airbending.

"You're an AIRBENDER!" The girls were all over him. Where did Aang find him? How did he get so much air with that jump? It was quite a sight.

Ling could tell right away that he would like it here.

The girls took him on a tour. Aang was released that they had a new stud to focus on. It made his life easier, well so long as they used protection until they were ready for babies. They needed airbenders, but not immediately.

Appa took his girlfriend on a tour too. She had only heard of the temples where their kind had once roamed free. It was an amazing sight. She knew she wanted their babies to grow up here.

**May 105AG**

Hei Won had been in the asylum for six months

She couldn't believe she had thrown so much away over a boy. How stupid was that?

"Have you thought about what you want to be?" Dr. Sing asked her.

"I did."

"And do you know?"

"I want to be strong."

"That is a good place to start."

She wanted to be confident. She wanted to stand on her own two feet and prove herself.

She never got much attention at home. Her parents were too busy to pay much attention to her. Her friends had been in the same boat, so when the Avatar had returned, it was the first sense of excitement that they had in ages. They followed every story about him, learned every rumor and formed a fan club. When they actually got a chance to meet him, everything changed.

Hei Won now realizes that all of the love that she vested in him was really to fill an empty void in her own life. She couldn't rely on him or her parents for her own happiness. She had to become strong so she could find her own.


	18. Chapter 18

Azula had promised Katara a trip home before the wedding. She now wished that she hadn't. She still wasn't sure on where all the money that the nobles were shuffling had gone. She tried the Yuyan archers, but if they had the money, it was well hidden. Likewise, the Rough Rhinos turned up empty as well. She was almost sure it was an assassination plot. It would have been easy to evade taxes without involving a foreign bank, but Azula still couldn't figure out the plan.

If she told Katara that she couldn't go with her to the tribe, her wife would want to know why. Instead of giving away her suspicions, she decided to go anyway and to just make the trip short.

She asked Qiu to keep her eyes and ears open for any suspicious behavior. "I have a feeling that some people may be plotting against Zuko, but I don't have enough information to figure out the plan. I don't know who, when or where."

Qiu nodded. "I'll make sure he and Princess Mai are well guarded in your absence."

Xiao Long was flying Azula and Katara to the tribe.

"Does she need a coat?" Azula wondered about her dragon. The cold air is dreadful down there.

"How are you going to make one big enough?"

"I don't know. Have my servants do it?"

"Stupid!" Katara told her.

Azula responded with a kiss.

Kip offered to fly too. Over Xiao Long's objections, Azula strapped supplies to him that the tribe could use, like medicine and tea.

"I don't know how people aren't sick all the time with that cold."

"I don't know how I don't get fever in this heat," Katara retorted.

They flew to the tribe. Unlike when they sailed, they could make the journey in one day.

_I can't believe you're making me fly next to him._

_He's free shipping and who knows, maybe he'll woo you on the way back._

_I won't pick you up!_

_Lies!_

* * *

Zuko didn't really notice that Qiu kept her attention on them during Azula's absence, but Mai did. She wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe Qiu was bored since she guarded Azula most of the time and she wasn't around.

Zuko was still trying to figure out where his mother had gone. He managed to track down a couple of actors from Hira'a, but the only thing they could tell him was before she had left to marry Ozia, she had been with another actor, Ikem. "Maybe, she reunited with him after she was banished?"

The search for Ikem began, but they had little more than a month to try and find them and get Ursa back to the wedding. This was assuming, of course, that they were even together after all this time.

While Zuko focused on finding his mother, Mai was working out the final details for her wedding. She would say their wedding, but Zuko seemed to run off at every opportunity.

As soon as Azula got back from visiting to the tribe, the princess found herself running the country. "Why am I doing this again?" she questioned as she started going through trade agreements.

"Would you rather work on wedding planning or finding your mother?" Mai questioned.

"Ugh! When you give me three options and two of them are horrid, it's really like only giving me one option."

"Now you get it!" Mai left.

* * *

With Katara back to teaching, Azula needed something to occupy her days. She thought bothering people with Xiao Long would prove to be enough, but Mai put her to work instead.

She didn't understand why Mai didn't just hire a wedding planner and what made Zuko think he could find mother if he couldn't find her for the past five years. If she wanted to be found, she would have been, assuming she was still alive at all.

When the family reconvened for dinner, Zuko was going on about the latest development. Azula was contemplating what were the odd she would choke on her oyster prawn, die, and no longer have to hear him talk about their mother for the umpteenth time.

She was playing with her food more than eating it at this point.

"Something wrong with your meal?" Mai asked her, reminding the Princess that there were in fact other people at the table, and they could actually see what she was doing.

"How likely is it that someone would choke do death during dinner?"

The question baffled Mai, as well as everyone else.

"I would assume rather low."

"I would assume so too, but I was wondering if anyone knew precisely."

No one did.

"Carry on."

The mood had considerably changed after Azula's inquiry. She went outside after dinner and found Xiao Long.

_Did you get along with your mother?_

Xiao humphed. _We don't really emphasize familial relationships the way people do. Once I could fly and hunt, I was pretty much on my own._

_So you didn't grow up with your parents?_

_Not really._

_Can you tell if you see a sibling?_

_During mating season I would smell awful to my male relatives, so they know they're related to me, but other than that, probably not._

_I think it would be easier if humans were less concerned about family. Just because you share blood with someone, doesn't mean you were meant to be buddy buddy with him or her._

_Not thrilled to be back with the family._

_I'm thrilled to be back in my bed, but that's about it._

"What was that about?" Mai asked Zuko after dinner.

"You know how Azula likes to confuse and disturb us."

"But she didn't seem very amused."

Zuko shrugged. "She never made much sense to me."

Something was off. "Let's go the lounge. I've hardly seen you today."

Katara waited for her wife to come inside. She knew when her wife wasn't happy, but she wasn't sure why.

Eventually, she came in.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Whatever you were thinking of when you spaced out during dinner?"

"Was it that obvious?"

"It was to me."

"I'm just tired."

"Of?"

"Hearing Zuko go on about mother. I really don't want to hear anymore about the search."

Zuko talked about his mother often. Azula didn't.

"You don't want him to find her."

"I don't care if he finds her or not. I just want no part in it."

"You don't want him to bring her back."

"I really hope he doesn't."

Just because you love a girl, doesn't mean you understand her. Katara would do most anything to have her mother back. She couldn't understand how Azula could be content with never seeing hers again.

Instead of trying to understand, she pulled Azula into her arms. "Let's just sit here for a while."

* * *

Qiu was making her rounds in the palace. She made her way to the library where the Head Sage was reading. The dragons returning to the palace was an important moment for the nation. Before Sozin outlawed it, there was a celebration for them called the Day of the Dragon. For the first time in over 100 years, the nation would be celebrating it again. He had to make sure that they were ready, hence the books.

After the library, she passed the lounge where Iroh had a newspaper and a pipe in his mouth. Zuko and Mai were discussing something, but Qiu didn't stay to hear what they were talking about. It wasn't her place anyway.

No abnormalities were spotted and she went back to her starting position.

She would stand guard until her shift was over. Most of her family was gone. It was her job to protect what was left of this one. Her family was used to watching over others. It's how they made their living for generations. It was weird, however, that her charge kept insisting on looking over her in return.

She was a guard, but the Princess called her a friend. Qiu had never had a friend before. She had associates, some of whom she thought of fondly, but the closest she had to a friend was her brother and he died when she was eight years old. She wondered if she should tell the Princess the truth about her brother and Lu Ten. She felt weird about hiding it, not that she meant to at first. She just never mentioned it.

The timing wasn't right. She'd have to tell her someday, but not today.

A week went by and Zuko's search came to yet another halt. "How could no one have seen Ikem in a decade?"

"Maybe they ran away together, somewhere no one could find them."

"How could such a place exist?"

"You haven't found them."

Zuko grunted.

When he asked the sage if he knew of any such places, the sage did not. Zuko was about to leave when he did say, "I do, however, know of a legend that might explain their disappearance."

Zuko stopped. "What legend?"

"There is rumored to be a spirit who lives in the forest, near the Forgetful Valley. She is called the Mother of Faces and she can grant people a new face, and with it, a new identity. If she were real, and if your mother had seen her, then no one would recognize her as Ursa."

"Do you think the rumor is real?"

"I thought it was made up, but then again, I also thought the dragons were dead. Their return symbolizes a new beginning for the Nation. Maybe they foretell a new beginning for you as well, my Lord."

Zuko decided to find out more about the Mother of Faces. If he could find her, maybe she had helped his mother. This might be the only shot he has at finding her before the wedding.

"You want to start a search party looking for a rumored spirit," Mai said bluntly.

"Yes."

"There's no way for me to talk you out of this foolishness is there."

"All of the rational ideas have turned up nothing. Even if I fail here, it wouldn't make any difference, but if I'm right, then it could make all the difference."

She sighed. "You're not just trying to get out of wedding planning."

"No," he promised as he kissed her nose. "This is just a fringe benefit!"

She grunted as he ran out the room, escaping her stiletto that landed in the door.

Time was not on his side. He would have to leave right away, which meant he wouldn't have time to request the Avatar's presence.

Iroh agreed to run the country in Zuko's absence while he and Azula searched for their mother.

Azula, however, refused to go on the trip. "Absolutely, positively, no way am I going!"

"What?" Is she serious? "But this is the best lead I've gotten on mother in almost five years."

"I understand that."

"We haven't seen her in 10 years."

"I remember when she left," she said coldly.

'Then what am I not getting."

"I don't want to find her. If what you say is true, she has forgotten all about us anyway. She wanted a new life; she got one, and I'm just as fine to let her keep it."

"You're kidding!"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"But she's our mother!"

"NO!" Azula snapped. "She's your mother. She's always been yours. I was the brat she never wanted, and she got her wish. I'm done with her. If you want to go into the middle of nowhere, facing who knows what kind of spirits are out there looking for her, fine. I can't stop you, but no way am I putting my life on hold for someone who walked out on me and made sure she would never be found. Forget it!"

Zuko couldn't believe her sister was so cold. "Fine!" He left the room. Azula went her own way back to her quarters.

* * *

Iroh wasn't surprised that Azula refused to go. "How about she runs things here and we go?" It would be uncle and nephew, just like old times.

"That's a good idea."

Mai wondered what made Zuko think he could survive camping with his sister into the unknown anyway. They never got along _that_ well, but she held her tongue.

"Try to make it back for the wedding. It would be troublesome if the groom didn't show up."

"We'll make it back," he vowed. "You'll see."

They took off on two days time, headed for the not well-known village called Hira'a. They took two of the guards to back them up as needed.

Qiu didn't ask Azula why she didn't go. It wasn't her business, though she could sense the tension between Zuko and Azula. He was furious with her. She felt her reasons were none of his business. She doesn't tell him how to deal with Ozai. He should just leave it alone.

"Better!" Katara said to her student who was trying to learn how to make a figurine out of ice. He was trying to make an ostrich horse and it looked more like a bird than foal, but it was some kind of improvement.

The waterbender focused on her work to escape the vitriol in the palace. Azula wasn't one to talk about her feelings, but Zuko went off every chance he could. "How could Azula be so selfish? Doesn't she know that Ursa did her best in an impossible situation?"

Katara wished he refrained from going on about this in front of her. Azula was her wife. She had to come first, no matter what her reasons were for avoiding a reconciliation attempt. Every now and then, Mai suggested Zuko shut up. Katara was grateful for the interference.

She stayed late to work on her lesson plan before going home. Azula was holed up in her office, making arrangements to advance the Fire Nation's economic standing. She was doing what a true Fire Lord should, not weeping about his long lost mother like a bitch.

Mai was in the lounge. She looked bored.

"How was your day?" Katara asked to be polite.

"Boring as usual. How was yours?"

"It was pleasant."

"Because you got to leave the palace."

"Basically," Katara admitted.

"Well, the tension is gone, temporarily."

"What is it with them and their mother?" Katara was afraid to ask Azula, so she didn't.

Mai explained it as concisely as she could. "Ursa had very traditional expectations for both her children. Zuko was supposed to be strong because he was a boy. Azula was supposed to be pretty and quiet because she was a girl.

At the beginning, Ozai was the same way. He trained Zuko and left Azula to do whatever he thought girls should do. But, Zuko struggled with his bending early on. He's always been short tempered, and it showed.

Azula, on the other hand, was very dedicated at an early age. As soon as she discovered her flame, she wanted to master it, and she wouldn't quit, no matter how hard the move. Ozai appreciated her tenacity and quickly replaced Zuko with her.

Ursa never would say this out loud, but she blamed Azula for her daughter's usurping of what she felt was Zuko's birthright. She would encourage her son to keep working and improve, but she resented her daughter for doing the same. As Azula got older, the tension between all four of them only grew.

Zuko appreciates his mother's love and support as he should, but he can't seem to appreciate that Azula never got the same treatment from their mother. Just as Ozai never appreciated his son, Ursa never appreciated her daughter. He expects Azula to want their mother back because he wants their mother back.

For Azula, reconciling with Ursa makes as much sense as Zuko granting Ozai parole and bringing him home. Zuko doesn't get that. He's always been too absolute. People are either right or wrong, good or bad. He misses the subtleties. Some people are better to some people than others, right when it comes to certain people but wrong when it comes to others."

* * *

It wasn't until Dr. Sing came to visit Azula in the asylum that Mai started to really understand the dynamics of the royal family. She knew that Ozai favored Azula and Ursa favored Zuko as children. Anyone could see that, but she didn't realize how much Azula's determination was tied to her confusion about her sexual orientation.

From an early age, she knew she was different from the other girls. She didn't long for a prince to come rescue her. She didn't dream of her first kiss with some boy. At the time, she thought that she would have rather been a boy. She went towards firebending and tactical training instead of dressing up and having tea parties because she felt more comfortable that way.

It wasn't until she was older that she understood that she didn't wish to be a boy, but she wished to have a girl. She blamed her weirdness on tearing her family asunder. If she had just been the good girl who plays with dolls, then Ursa would have loved her, Ozai would have kept Zuko as his heir and her family would have stayed together.

She kept her preferences quiet because she was afraid if her father knew, she would lose the only one who accepted any aspect of her. She became what her father wanted her to be because she thought it was the only way she would have acceptance. There was no such thing as unconditional love in her family. Everything was conditional and even though Ozai's love was never going to happen; he didn't love anyone anymore. His was the only one that seemed to be in reach, so he was the only one that mattered.

Dr. Sing could tell all of this before he even spoke to the Princess. He studied her medical records and her history carefully and spoke to Zuko and Mai extensively before his first visit to the asylum. Even with Ty Lee's absence, Zuko and Mai's retelling of their childhood was enough to tell Dr. Sing that the two girls had been something more than just friends, even if it had only been one-sided.

Azula and Ty Lee had loved to torment Zuko and Mai, and Dr. Sing could tell that there was more to it than sibling rivalry. Azula was jealous that Zuko could just pursue Mai because he was a boy. Azula needed an excuse to have alone time with Ty Lee and tormenting Zuko and Mai together provided it.

For Azula, Ursa's rejection was more than just disagreement about whether princesses should firebend and fight. It was also about Azula's orientation. She could never see her mother accepting that she loved another woman and chose to have a wife instead of a husband.

She shied away because she feared being rejected all over again, and honestly, Mai didn't think Ursa would be very excited to find out Katara was her wife anyway. She was not only a woman, but she was also a foreign peasant. She was about as low in the societal chain as Azula could have gone, and Ursa would not think very highly of that.

Mai hoped that if there was a family reunion, it would be a happy one, but she didn't see that in the stars for the line of Sozin.

Katara let Mai's words wash over her. She tried to imagine it, but it seemed too terrible. What mother doesn't just love her children because they're her children? Shouldn't that just be enough? It was obviously not enough for Ozai, but mothers are supposed to be different. They literally bring their children into the world.

The waterbender realized she needed to stop avoiding her wife. She had to be more supportive. She excused herself and went into Azula's office.

The Princess was trying to work out something, but Katara was not concerned with her work. She sat on her wife's lap and kissed her.

"Good afternoon," Azula said as Katara slipped her arms around her neck.

"It's evening, and I want you."

Azula kissed her nose. "You do realize this is Zuko's office, technically." She had commandeered it until he felt like actually doing his job.

"I won't tell if you don't."

Azula shoved the papers to the side. She sat down on the desk and pulled Katara on top of her.

Qiu heard rustling in the office and was about to enter the room to check on the Princess. A loud moan, however, convinced her to leave it alone. She blushed as she walked away from the door. The desk rocking was not an intruder after all.

She continued her route, finding Princess Mai reading in the lounge.

"You've been working a lot this week."

"We're two guards down, so we all have extra shifts."

Of course, Zuko had taken two guards with him.

"How do you like working here?" Mai questioned, wondering if she would say she liked it just fine, which is what the guards always say.

"It's much more pleasant than being on a boat with 20 men."

"Are you not a fan of sailors?" Should she be?

"I'm not a huge fan of men, but I suppose they have their uses."

Ah. It wasn't surprising that one of the highest-ranking women in their navy was a lesbian, and it wasn't surprising that she chose to guard Azula of all people.

"Tell me, did you take this job because you have a crush on the princess?"

Qiu laughed. "I would call it admiration more than a crush. I would hardly think Azula and I would have made a suitable couple."

"And why is that?"

"She seems like someone who would take charge in the bedroom. That's my preference as well."

"I suppose that would be problematic."

"I also don't do married women, especially if they're married to someone who can bloodbend."

"I would consider that a good life rule."

Qiu was quiet, but she had a personality, unlike their usual guards.

* * *

Kip flew the quartet to Hira'a, which saved them a lot of time. If they had taken a carriage, they would have had to try to get it through the forest, which would have been quite a pain. They also would have had to care for the ostrich horses. Kip was able to get to Hira'a in one go.

The people were not used to dragons in the sky and many came out to watch them. One of them was Noriko who came with her daughter Kiyi.

When Kip landed, many were surprised to see, "it's Fire Lord Zuko!" The people were excited that he came to their oft-ignored town. People inquired as to why he came, offered to show him around and give him various items. Before he could explain that he was on a search for his mother, Kiyi approached the dragon. "He's really big!"

"KIyi," Noriko took her away. "It could be dangerous."

"But he's nice."

People started rubbing Kip for luck. He enjoyed the attention.

Iroh scanned the crowd, looking for someone who resembled Ursa, but he didn't see anyone.

"I came here to try and find the Mother of Faces," Zuko told the crowd. "If anyone could give me some direction, it would be most helpful."

Everyone started clamoring. No one knew where to find her or if she could be found.

* * *

Finally, someone said, "ask Misu. She's looking for the Mother of Faces too."

Zuko found the girl at the edge of the village.

"Koh stole my brother's face," Misu told the visitors. "I was hoping to find the Mother of Faces, so she could get him a new one."

"What do you know about her whereabouts?" Zuko questioned.

She showed him her map, which had possible locations for her based on the varying legends. "I'm not sure which one she's at."

"We have a dragon. It shouldn't be much trouble to visit them all."

Rafa hid in the corner. He wore the mask, so people didn't know about his missing face. It felt weird having the Fire Lord of all people know.

They set out looking for the Mother of Faces the following morning.

It was a tight fit getting six people on Kip's back, but they managed to do it only for Kip to realize he couldn't actually fly with six people on his back. It was too much weight. Iroh decided that he should stay back with one of the guards. "Then he'll only have four people, and Rafa can get a new face if you find her today."

The Prince and the guard decided to try to get to know the locals.

The quartet took off for the forest, hoping to find this rumored spirit.

Iroh asked the guard what he thought of his job.

"It's fine." They always say that.

"What did you do before you joined the Royal Guard?"

"I worked for a private security firm. It paid better, but my boss got arrested for not paying his taxes, so I had to look for another job."

They made it to the center of the village where the small shops and stands were.

Iroh smelled meat pastries and bought a small basket of them.

"Pastry."

"Thank you Prince."

"You can just call me Iroh."

"What?"

"I'm a prince by blood, but I just run a teashop now." It's not like he does any work for the crown and they're not in court.

It took them an hour to find the first spot on the map. It was hard to tell what was what looking from above the trees.

They spend another hour searching the area on foot, but they were out of luck.

"Let's try the next place."

They got back on Kip and flew around again. They didn't find the Mother of Faces but hunters found them.

"It's a dragon!"

They started firing arrows at it. Annoyed at the attack, Kip threw a fireball straight at them, destroying their arrows and nearly setting them ablaze. The hunters ran for the hills.

Eventually, they got to their second location, but there was no Mother of Faces.

"The only place left is by the water," Misu told them.

That was easier to find from above and when they got to the ground, they were able to find the Mother of Faces.

"Can you help us?" Zuko asked when he approached.

"Why would I help the ingrates who set fire to my forest?"

"But that was an accident. There were these hunters who were …"

"Aren't you the Fire Lord?"

"Well yes."

"Then if you wanted people to stop hunting dragons, you would ban the practice. You can't expect them to know any better when they don't have proper rules!"

"It was just some trees!"

"Just some trees! These trees provide home and shelter for the animals, my animals. They provide oxygen for the Earth and they should be respected, not set ablaze by a dragon who can't control his temper!"

"I just wanted to find my mother. Is that so much to ask?"

"Apparently it was. Normally I grant one wish per group, but you will get none!"

"That's not fair!" Misu yelled at her.

"Why not? I help people for nothing, but they take and they take. When do they ever give back? Out of all of the people I helped, not a one offered anything in return. I'm sick of your selfishness!"

"You complain about selfishness! You're the selfish one!" Misu threw a water whip at the spirit.

"If you want a fight, you will get one." The angry spirit unleashed her animals. They surrounded the group and got ready to attack. Rafa tried to run but he tripped and fell, knocking off his mask.

The startled spirit called off the attack. "What happened to your face?"

Misu explained how Koh had tricked her brother and stolen his face.

"Koh?"

Zuko told her what he knew about the spirit, that she had possessed a girl the year before and that girl poisoned his friend in what was some sordid love triangle.

The saddened spirit recognized the work. "This was done by my son. He wasn't always called Koh. I had named him Gurihiru."

A blue light came out as the Mother of Faces gave Rafa his face back.

"Thank you," he said. It had been months since he had last been able to speak.

The spirit turned to Zuko. "Your mother came here ten years ago. I couldn't believe she wanted a new face since hers was so pretty. I offered her a plain one, and when she took it, I realized how sad she was. I offered to ease her pain by giving her a fresh start. She took it, so she won't remember you."

Zuko wasn't expecting that. "Can she get her memories back?"

* * *

"If she will ask me for them. Her name is Noriko now."

Iroh had seen Noriko and Kiyi eating lunch in the center of town. The little girl almost looked familiar to him, but Iroh wasn't sure of why.

"Have you lived here long?" Iroh asked Noriko.

"About ten years."

Kiyi was only six. She had been born and raised in Hira'a.

"Where were you before then?"

"I don't remember."

"What?"

"I don't have any memories from my past."

"Were you in an accident?"

"I wasn't injured. I thought they would come back, but they never did."

How unusual? Iroh had wondered if Noriko was Ursa with a new face, but as far as he knew, a new face didn't mean a new memory. What would have caused this woman to forget?

When Noren found Iroh with his wife, he was concerned.

"Who is this?"

"This is Prince Iroh. He and his nephew Zuko came looking for his mother. She disappeared many years ago."

"I see. I think it's time for Kiyi to take her nap."

"You're right. I'll take her."

Iroh asked Noren if he knew anything about Ursa's disappearance."

"I'm sorry. I don't." he lied.

Iroh wasn't sure if he should believe him but then the man was gone.

Noren thought that his problems were over. He had a new life. They did together. He did not want the royal family taking his love from him again. He wouldn't allow it.

Unfortunately for him, Zuko did find their house.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Fire Lord Zuko. I came to talk to my mother."

"Ursa's not here."

"I saw the Mother of Faces. I know she's Noriko now."

Crap! "So what if she is? She doesn't remember you!"

"But she might want to remember."

"And what if she doesn't?"

"Don't you think we should ask her that?"

"Ask me what?" Noriko came from behind her husband. "Oh it's you. Did you find your mother?"

"Actually I did. She went to the Mother of Faces ten years ago, and she got a new face, and had her memories erased."

"She what?"

"She doesn't remember anything that happened earlier than 10 years ago."

Noriko's eyes got big. "Neither do I. Are you saying that I'm?"


	19. Chapter 19

**June 105AG**

Ty Lee came to help Mai make the final preparations for the wedding. She also had to get fitted for her bridesmaid dress.

"Oh everything is going to be so beautiful," Ty Lee beamed as she saw the plans for the flower arrangement and what they were doing with the hall.

"I just want it all to be over."

"Why isn't Zuko helping you with this?"

"He went to go find his mother before the big day."

"Now? She's been missing almost five years." What makes him think he can find her now?

"He got a clue from the Head Sage, and now thinks he knows where she is."

"He's cutting it pretty close."

"Don't remind me." Mai could just kill him for sticking her with all this crap.

"Well, with him or without him, it will be a great wedding."

"I can't get married without him!"

"Can't you use someone else as a stand in? I think there's some obscure law that lets you do that."

Mai's jaw dropped. "Are you suggesting getting married to the Fire Lord without the Fire Lord?"

"He'd sure regret leaving if you did that."

Mai rolled her eyes, but she had a slight smile.

Azula refused to be a bridesmaid. "Absolutely NOT!"

"But Zuko has two groomsmen, and we need someone to match."

"Why not one of your cousins?"

That had been the original plan but, "she got too fat for the dress."

Azula snickered. "Well, tell one of Zuko's groomsmen he's off the hook."

"But Aang already bought the robes," Ty Lee told her.

"Well, why not get one of his girlfriends to be the bridesmaid."

That just pissed off both girls.

"Come on! Mai's your best friend."

"I know, and if she were my friend, she wouldn't expect me to put on that colorful bed sheet she's calling a dress." The outfit was pastel yellow, which Azula hated.

"If you are in the wedding party, you don't have to sit with Iroh during the ceremony."

"I can just drink every time he comments," Azula retorted.

Mai frowned. "I'll make you sit next to him during the dinner."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

"I'll spike the punch if you do that."

The two girls squared up.

Mai stooped to her lowest level. "If you do this, I will grant you one favor, no questions asked," Mai told her.

"Deal!"

"I can't believe I had to bribe her for that."

"I can," Ty Lee laughed. "She hates girly dresses. She would have rather done it naked."

"Now that would be a wedding no one would have forgotten."

Azula tried on the dress. She was a little big for it on top, so it showed quite a bit of cleavage.

"I like," Katara licked her lips as she kissed her wife.

"I'd look good in a bed sheet," Azula bragged. "I think this fabric was once a bed sheet.

Katara kissed her chest. "How about we have some victory sex in this dress after the wedding?"

"How about right now?"

"We can't ruin it beforehand."

"Fine, but after the victory sex, I'm burning the dress."

"Just burn it outside."

* * *

Noren reluctantly explained to Noriko that she got a new face because she was afraid of Ozai. She thought he would retaliate if he found out that she had come back to her ex and when the Mother of Faces saw how sad she was, she offered her a fresh start, hence why she didn't remember anything before 95AG.

Noriko asked why he never told her. She assumed that she had some weird brain aneurysm or something.

He admitted that, "I didn't want you to go back. When you married Ozai, it was because the Fire Lord willed it. I didn't want to lose you again." He knew Zuko came looking for her, but he hoped he would give up. He was sure that Zuko would just take her away because he could, and Noren liked his life here. It was quiet and peaceful, just them and their daughter, like they had wanted so many years ago.

"I didn't want it to change."

Noriko wanted to know her son again. She wanted her old memories, and she told her husband so.

He expected it at this point.

The next day, Ursa went with Zuko to the Mother of Faces. The spirit restored her memories and her face.

"Thank you," she said as she became Ursa once more.

She turned and saw her son for the first time in ten years. "ZUKO!" She hugged him happily.

He finally had his mother back.

"I missed you so much," he told her.

"Now what happened to your face?"

She had missed out on a lot since she left.

Kiyi was confused when her mother had a new face.

"What happened to her old face?"

"This is my original face," Ursa explained to her. "I had it changed 10 years ago because I was afraid that my ex-husband would find me, but now he's in jail."

"Are you still my mom?"

She hugged the confused child. "I will always be your mother. Nothing has changed."

"I'm getting married," Zuko told her. "I came looking for you because I was hoping you'd come to the wedding."

"Of course. Is it to someone I know?"

"Do you remember Mai?"

"I do! Oh I'm so happy for you."

Ursa promised her husband that after the wedding, they would come back home. Zuko and Mai were going on a honeymoon anyway.

They couldn't all take Kip back, so Noren took his family on a carriage. Zuko and the others went with Kip, so they would get there first. It would also give Zuko a chance to make sure that suitable rooms were ready for them.

"I can't believe I finally found her," Zuko said as they took for the sky, the things that can happen when you hear one anecdote.

It was two hours later when Kip made it to the palace. He stopped in front of the front door, letting his passengers off before looking for Xiao Long.

The female dragon was sparring with Qiu. With Azula assuming the powers of the Crown, Qiu needed a new workout buddy for the time being.

_You're overeager!_ _Hold your attack until the last possible moment. When you move too early, your opponent can evade and you leave yourself vulnerable to a quick counter attack. Wait for him to commit to an action before you attack. Then, he will not be able to defend as well._

Qiu set up and tried again.

_Better!_

Zuko informed the head guard that they had found his mother and she would be coming to the palace with her husband and his sister. "I will need the security plan modified for them. They will be staying until after the wedding."

"Yes my Lord!"

He instructed the servants to prepare their room and to get out a child sized chair for the dinner table and some toys for her to play with.

"Azula's old toys should suffice."

"Um, she cut off the heads," the servant reminded him.

"Oh right. Maybe some of my old toys would work."

Zuko found his wife throwing knives at the wall.

"I'm home."

"You did remember we're getting married in a week."

He kissed her before he said, "I found her."

"She's here?"

"She's on her way."

This is going to be a shit show.

Zuko had forgotten about his sister, until he went to his office and saw her at his desk, with papers sprawled everywhere.

"You're back. This is your problem now." She got up to leave.

"What is all of this?"

"You have a trade negotiation with Kuei coming up. He's trying to overcharge you for produce, so he can charge his people less. Their lack of coin is not our problem, so I suggest you refuse. If he wants to subsidize the produce going to his peasants, that's his business, but we have no reason to pay for it. They got their reparation money. If they still can't buy food, then they need to reconsider their business model.

The Southern Water Tribe was concerned about exhausting the whale supply near their tribe, so I put a quota on how many whales our fisherman can take per year. To import a whale into the Fire Nation, a fishing group will need a permit and the number of available permits is fixed to the quota, so if a group wants to hunt additional whales, it will have to buy a permit from another group. If a group comes with a whale but no permit, then the whale will be seized, discouraging groups from whaling without a permit.

Also, United Republic is asking for more money, again. I don't see why they can't try taxing their own citizens for money. If they want to be their own country, they should start acting like it. I already drafted a "no" response, since they are still over budget on all the other projects we paid for. Why offer to pay for a new project when they can't complete their existing ones?"

Azula left before he could say anything else to her. He was back. Let him do his own job.

She was on her way back to her room when Mai found her.

"We need to talk."

"If it's about the bachelorette party, I can't offer you any details. Ty Lee swore me to secrecy."

"What bachelorette party?"

OOPS! "Pretend you didn't hear that!"

"I wasn't going to ask you about my wedding. Zuko found Ursa."

"Good for him."

"She's bringing her family to visit."

"Her what?"

"Her husband and her younger daughter, Kiyi."

"Oh, she has the family she always wanted. I'm not surprised."

"You don't have to pretend not to care."

"I know. I prefer it that way."

Azula gave Qiu very specific instructions when it came to Ursa and her family. "Understood?"

"Yes, my Princess!"

* * *

It was almost dinnertime by the time Noren got his family to the palace. Unlike Ursa, he chose not to get his face (and identity) back. He saw no reason to become Ikem again.

"I'm hungry!" Kiyi told her parents.

"I'm sure dinner will be soon," Ursa said they walked up the steps.

The guards let them in. "Welcome back, Lady Ursa."

"Thank you."

A servant came and escorted them to their quarters. Noren had never lived anywhere other than Hira'a. The palace was quite extravagant.

The couple would have their own bedroom and bathroom. Kiyi had a smaller bedroom that connected to theirs. They each had servants assigned to them for their stay. Noren thought it was unnecessary and Ursa said, "why not get pampered for a little bit?"

Noren feared his wife would become too accustomed to the treatment and wish to stay.

Kiyi wanted to play with her doll.

Ursa went to find her son. On the way, he saw the soon to be Fire Lady.

"Mai!" The woman greeted her future daughter in law warmly.

"Ursa, welcome back," Mai thought the woman was well intentioned, even if she lacked some traits to be desired.

"It's been so long. Look at you all grown up."

"You don't look a day older," Mai offered.

"Oh stop. Where were you off to?"

"I was just going to see when dinner would be ready. Now that I know that I fit in my dress, I can go back to eating."

"Oh I remember trying to fit in my wedding dress. It was not a fun experience."

They went to the kitchen when they learned dinner would be at 7:00 instead of 7:30 as it usually was.

"Good I'm hungry too," Ursa said.

"Did you have a good trip?"

"It was bumpy and hard to get through that forest. I don't know why there isn't an access road."

"Do lots of people go to Hira'a?"

"I guess not." No one bothered to build a good road.

Ursa found her son.

"Did you settle in okay?"

"Everything is just fine."

"I wanted to get more toys for Kiyi, but apparently Azula destroyed most of them in her childhood."

It was the first time Ursa heard her daughter's name in over a decade. "Where is she?"

Zuko had forgotten to tell her. "She's here. She got married and …"

"She's married!" Ursa was excited to hear that. She rushed to find her daughter only to be met by a guard.

"Azula requested no visitors before dinner," Qiu told her.

"But I'm her mother."

"I am aware of that, but she said no visitors."

"Surely, she's expecting me."

"She said no one, not even you."

"Why not?" Ursa was taken aback.

"I wouldn't know. I don't know you at all, and I don't know her that well personally. Perhaps she will be in a more sociable mood at dinner."

Ursa turned away. She was surprised that her daughter didn't want to see her. Surely, she wasn't still mad at her for leaving. It had been ten years ago, and she had to save Zuko. She didn't have a choice.

She would have to wait for dinner to get an explanation.

When it was time for dinner, however, Azula didn't show up and neither did Katara.

"Where is she?" Zuko asked Ty Lee.

"She said something about going to Ember Island."

"What?"

"She said she needed a vacation, and that she was cashing in on her one favor."

"What favor?"

Mai should have realized. Azula learned the avoidance strategy from her mother. Of course she used it against her.

"I might have bribed her into being my bridesmaid. She had one favor to burn no questions asked, and she's using it now."

"But Mom just got here."

"I think that was the point," Mai said bluntly.

No one asked any more questions about her absence.

* * *

Katara was surprised when Azula said impromptu vacation.

"What's the occasion?"

"Do I need one to take you away?"

"No, but you usually don't just leave without telling anyone where you're going."

"I told Ty Lee."

"Who you instructed not to tell anyone until we already left."

"Fine, Fine. I didn't want a forced reunion with my mother, so I left."

"She's at the palace?"

"She and her new family. She now has the daughter she always wanted. She has a new life. Why can't she stay out of mine?"

Katara took her wife to the beach. "Let's go swimming." She thought the water might do her wife's mind some good.

"Remember when you threw me into the ocean," Azula smirked as they got into the water.

"Yeah, you jerk. You faked dead."

"And then you kissed me."

"I was trying to revive you!"

"Sexily."

Azula pulled her wife into her arms, kissing her tenderly as the sun set behind them.

Katara formed a water bubble around them and brought her wife under the waves. For the first time, Azula saw the ocean like a fish, and it was gorgeous. All different colors and shapes existed beneath the ocean. This moment couldn't be any better.

When they came back to the surface, Katara asked her, "how was that?"

"The view was beautiful."

"I love the ocean."

"I meant you." Azula pulled her in for another kiss. Katara surrounded them with the water shell once more and wrapped her legs around her wife. She could feel the desperation in Azula's movements and knew her wife was about to lay claim to her soon.

Moans and gasps surrounded them as Azula took her wife in the ocean. The beachgoers had mostly gone in for the night. Azula was not worried about being seen in the water.

After they made love, Azula said, "I'm really hungry."

"You're the one who wanted to run away before dinner."

"Let's go get turtle crab cakes."

"That sounds really good right now."

* * *

Ty Lee carried much of the conversation during dinner. If she felt uncomfortable at all, she didn't show it. She asked Kiyi what she liked to do for fun and offered to show her how to do a cartwheel.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Can you teach her how to eat with chopsticks, using her feet?" Mai tried.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Language!" Zuko scolded.

"Oh sorry. Not used to children at the table."

"It's not polite language at the royal table any way," Zuko told her.

"Since when has this table ever been polite?"

Iroh stayed quiet as he ate his food. He just hoped dinner didn't digress any further.

After the meal, Zuko confronted Ty Lee. "What's the big idea?"

"What?"

"Not telling anyone Azula was leaving until after she left."

"I didn't mean to trick anyone. She just said, 'I'm going. Tell Mai this is my favor,' and she left right then."

"You should have stopped her."

"How? She's a grown woman. I can't make her do anything."

"Well she's acting like a child."

"Take it up with her. I'm not getting involved. It's not my business, and it really isn't yours either."

"Excuse me."

"Azula's relationship with Ursa has nothing to do with you. If Ursa wants to fix it, then she should do something about it. You can't make them get along."

Ty Lee left with that.

"She's right you know," Mai told him.

"What?"

"You want them to get along because you and Ursa get along so well, but it's not a transitive property. You can't just import your relationship with your mother onto your sister."

"That's not what I'm doing!"

"Isn't it? She's been gone for ten years and even before she left, their relationship was never a strong one. You fault Azula for leaving, but you didn't ask yourself why she left or rather, why she didn't want to stay? She didn't do it to spite you."

"I know that," he mumbled.

"Then why do you take it so personally? I don't particularly like my parents. I'm sure they would have much rather to just have Tom Tom, but that's not his fault. It's just how it is. I don't expect him to spurn his parents, but I don't expect to him to try to make me get along with them either. It has nothing to do with him."

"You know I hate it when you're right."

"Then stop being wrong," she told him.

Ursa walked into Azula's childhood room. She had since moved into the Crown Princess room, so the one she had grown up in was empty. It was much like it had been when Azula left, the same faded red, that almost looked pink, not that she would ever admit to having a pink-like room. It had the chest of toys that never had many toys in it. She always seemed to hate the toys people would give her: cutting heads of dolls or setting doll houses on fire and saying the palace was being invaded.

She sighed. Her daughter never was one for pretty dresses and tea parties. Kiyi would have loved to grow up in this room. She would have cherished those dolls and joined her mother for tea parties or walks in the garden. She never understood why Azula had to be so difficult. She was so lucky to be born a princess. Ursa had been born with humble beginnings. Her parents pushed her to marry Ozai, saying he'd open doors for her that Ikem just couldn't.

They were right, but if they had known what kind of man Ozai was, they might have realized that the fancy wooden doors weren't everything. Ursa never saw her parents again after she moved to Capital City. They died before she moved back to Hira'a. If it weren't for Zuko, she would have wished that she had never left in the first place.

Iroh came by to see her. "This room's been empty for a long time," he told her. Azula was quick to pack her stuff and move into the Crown Princess suite. She had been glad her father assumed the throne. She had been one step closer to her goals.

"I know, but I thought some of her old things might have still been here."

"Anything she wanted, she would have moved to her new room. I don't know what would be here other than broken dolls or smashed dollhouses."

"She did love smashing them. I caught her throwing a dollhouse she had been given out the window once. She said she was doing a physics experiment."

Iroh laughed. "She always did have a creative way of making excuses for her destructive behavior."

"I never understood her."

"I don't know if anyone did."

"Not even Ozai?"

"Maybe he understood her the least. He knew how to control her, once, but from what Zuko says, she hasn't been to see him since she got out and that was almost four years ago."

"Got out of what?"

Iroh realized she didn't know where Azula had gone after the war. "How much of Azula's past do you know?"

"I just heard Azula got married. I assumed her husband left with her."

She doesn't have a husband. This will be interesting. "Maybe we should start with what happened when Ozai took the throne."

Iroh could only tell bits and pieces. He had joined Zuko to hunt for the Avatar, so he wasn't around for three years of Azula's life. "I can't say much about what happened while she was gone, but she became a firebending master. She learned to throw lightening and became only more dangerous."

A pit formed in Ursa's stomach as she learned about Ozai's putting Azula into combat at 14.

"But she was just a child!"

"Ozai saw her as a weapon. He sent her to do his dirty work only to cast her aside when she had outlived her usefulness. She went crazy on Sozin's Comet during an agni kai with her brother. She almost killed him. She got put in the asylum and it was months before she got diagnosed with PTSD."

"What?"

"Post traumatic stress disorder. The doctor thought it had been manifesting for years and the set of events at the end of the war proved to be too much for her. He started a treatment program for her, and two months later, Zuko had her brought back to the palace and had her treatment continued with the royal doctor. Dr. Sing returned to his clinic, and she hasn't had any more incidents."

"How could Ozai be so cruel? She was his favorite."

"The only thing Ozai cared about was Ozai. Azula learned that the hard way."

All of this, Iroh had learned with conversations with his nephew after he had released Azula from the asylum. The general had strongly opposed the move as did all of Zuko's friends at the time, but he insisted that she get a second chance, like he had gotten.

"When I was her age, I was aimlessly changing the avatar, ready to kill him if I could come home and be the Crown Prince again. How can we expect her to show mercy if she's never been shown it? How could she have known right from wrong without anyone to teach her?"

Iroh thought Zuko had been too dismissive of Azula's past crimes. Sure, Ozai was a bad influence, but he wasn't the only person in her life. She chose to follow Ozai. That had to count for something.

"And you chose to follow Azulon. Should you be jailed for all the people who died when you breached the outer wall? You weren't a teenager anymore."

Iroh didn't bring up the matter again, but he had been wary of her. He stayed that way until the night Katara almost died the year before. It was the first time that Azula had seemed human to him.

Ursa knew that Zuko needed to be shielded from Ozai. She never thought that her daughter might have needed her at all, much less that Azula needed her more.

She realized that she got a lot of things wrong when it came to her middle child. She wondered if she'd get a chance to make them right.

* * *

Kiyi enjoyed playing with Ty Lee. She was nice, and she was pretty. The acrobat showed Kiyi how to do a handstand. She set out pillows for when Kiyi fell down.

"This is fun!"

Ty Lee was glad to have someone to teach. She had thought the other warriors how to chi block, but they were less interested in learning acrobatics.

Surprisingly, Azula had been more interested in learning it. She used to improve her agility for combat.

After her acrobatics lesson, they played dolls and Kiyi told her about growing up in Hira'a. "It was just me, mommy and daddy at home. I didn't realize I had a brother."

"And a sister."

"What?"

"You also have a sister."

"I do?" Mom didn't mention her.

"What did your mom tell you when you were coming here?"

"She said that my big brother was getting married, and we were going to visit before the wedding."

Ty Lee wasn't terribly surprised that Azula hadn't even been mentioned. No wonder she left. Still, it wasn't Kiyi's fault. She was just a little girl.

"How about we go get candies from the kitchen?"

"YAY!"

The girls were off.

Noren had to admit that this place was nice, but he didn't want to move her. He wasn't a prince. Ursa wasn't a princess anymore. They didn't belong here. All he wanted was a normal life and a normal wife. Azulon got in the way before, and he did not want Zuko to get in the way now.

He wasn't even sure where his wife had gone.

He left their room and wandered until he found the library.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" The librarian asked him.

"No." He wasn't looking for a book at all. Then again, maybe they had something interesting. "Do you have any fiction?"

"Any genre you can think of?"

"Any good pirate stories?"

"I can name a few."

Noren checked out a book about a pirate Captain named Blackstrap Bolin. He read the pages late into the night, not even noticing that neither he nor Ursa were attending to Kiyi."

Ty Lee tucked in Kiyi. "Good night Kiyi!"

"Good night, Ty Lee!" Ty Lee was nice. Kiyi wished that she were her sister.

When Ty Lee did get to her room, she flopped on her bed. She was tired. Kiyi was sweet, but she was a lot of energy. Hopefully, her parents would be more attentive to her during their stay.

Azula held Katara in her arms, just like she had two years before when Katara had suffered from night terrors.

Ever since Mai told her of Ursa's return, her anxiety started to creep up again. Why now? Hadn't she answered for her mistakes enough without Ursa coming to throw them back in her face?

Katara could feel her trembling. She put one of Azula's joints in her mouth and lit it with the candle that was on their dresser.

"Relax, you're perfectly safe here."

Azula exhaled as she took a puff. She hated that even the thought of Ursa had such an effect on her. It had been ten years. She should have been able to move past it.

Soft kisses and words of love enveloped the princess as her wife held her until she fell asleep.

She knew the signs of an anxiety attack and worked to head this one off before it started.

She put out the joint and closed her mouth before pressing her lips to Azula's jaw. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

"Definitely."

Ursa drank her whiskey on the rocks. She used to drink to try to handle the stress of being Ozai's wife. She had quit the habit when she left the palace, and she hadn't even been back six hours before she was drinking again.

Something about these walls was harrowing. It was like the mistakes of her past were inescapable. She knew her time here would be short. She fantasized about staying here, about Kiyi growing up in the palace, but she knew she wouldn't make it past the wedding. She refused to let Kiyi know the Ursa that used to live in these walls. She refused to stay long enough for her secrets to come out.

Qiu noticed her drinking alone. It was not her place to say anything, but it was never a good sign. She quietly continued her rounds. She was now tasked with watching Ursa's and her family. She had gotten the assignment before she learned of Azula's departure, not that it made any difference. If she didn't want a guard, then she would not take one, end of discussion.

She wondered if Ursa's drinking was apart of why Azula was so averse to seeing her again.

Qiu's father used to drink, a lot. It was not a happy childhood, especially after Qiang died at war. She used to dream of the day when she could get out of the house, when she could grow up. Now she's grown, but she has to take care of her ailing father. It seems that freedom was always just out of her grasp.

She wondered if Azula felt the same way. Freedom had been there, but then her past came slamming into her like a capsized boat hitting the shore. Her shift would be over soon. She would be able to go home, but she would rather be at the palace than there. Sure, the palace was creepy, possibly haunted, but the ghouls in it wouldn't come for her. The demons inside of it were not her demons. She was safe from whatever got Ursa to drink.

Iroh wondered when it was that the family broke into pieces. Was it one moment that could be identified or was it the accumulation of a series of seemingly unimportant events that cast their fate? He wondered if he would ever know. He wondered if it made any difference in the end.


	20. Chapter 20

It was only a few days before the wedding.

Ty Lee had finished the arrangements for Mai's bachelorette party. Azula and Katara promised to meet them there.

She told Zuko that she was taking Mai to get a massage, which was true. "I think she needs some pampering before her big day."

Zuko knew she had been stressed out and told the girls to have fun.

It wasn't until they got to the spa and saw Azula and Katara there that she suspected something was up.

"What is this?"

"You're bachelorette party!"

"Oh spirits why?"

"Because we love you."

"Of course you do."

They got inside. This parlor was known for having attractive male masseuses who would do provide additional services for the right price.

"We're here for our reservation."

"Of course. Ty Lee, right this way."

They only had two massage tables per room, so Azula and Katara were in one room while Mai and Ty Lee were in the other.

The masseuses wore skimpy boy shorts. Azula was not very pleased. "Really? Ty Lee would pick a place like this."

Katara thought it was funny. The man massaging Azula had a huge wang, and she was totally disinterested.

The man offered the Princess a little extra loving, but she said, "I'm married."

"We have strict rules on confidentiality."

"My wife's on the other table you bonehead!"

Katara laughed into her pillow. Oh this was funny!

Mai rarely revealed how content she was. Even during sex, her moans sounded unenthused. Right now however, she was in heaven. "Oh rub me harder!" she said as he worked on her back. "Right there!"

Ty Lee thought this sounded vaguely pornographic. "You are getting married in a few days."

"Hush your mouth!"

Ty Lee only giggled as her masseuse worked out the crick in her neck.

Once they were done, they went to their steam bath.

"It's good to open your pores now and get all the gunk out before your big day," Ty Lee told Mai

"To think, I got married with gunk in my pores."

"Shut up Azula!"

"I'm glad she has her swagger back," Katara said.

"Was it missing?" Azula questioned.

"A little bit."

They went to a hydration bar after their steam bath.

"It's important to rehydrate before we drink," Ty Lee told them.

"Did you make all this shut up today?" Mai asked her.

"No I read about it."

Mai didn't even want to know what Ty Lee reads.

* * *

After their hydrating drinks, which were really just water with fruit in it, and moisturizing session, the girls got dressed again and headed out to the next activity, an early dinner.

"We're like old people," Azula said. The elderly often went to dinner early for the specials.

"I thought we should eat before we went drinking."

Azula asked Mai, "Do you remember when we used to play hide and seek?"

"When we would pretend to look for Ty Lee and go get ice cream instead."

"Yeah that was fun."

"You're such a bitch," Ty Lee told her.

"I did it to Zuko once. He hid in the attic for like 5 hours. He fell asleep there instead of just leaving."

Mai laughed. "I bet if we got him to play hide and seek with Kiyi, we could do it to him again."

"That's mean," Ty Lee told her.

"He deserves some mean. He stiffed me with the wedding plans when it was his sages that were making the fuss in the first place. He kept saying he'd do the seating chart when really Iroh did it. He needs some payback."

"You could just put rose thorn powder in his boxers," Azula mentioned.

"He was so mad when you did that," Mai told her. "He thought he got crabs."

Azula burst out laughing. "That's amazing!"

"What is crabs?" Katara questioned.

"It's when you get lice in your junk," Ty Lee told her.

"What are lice?"

"You didn't get lice outbreaks in school?" Mai asked. They always happened once every few years at the academy.

"I don't think lice can survive her climate," Azula mentioned.

"Ah, lice are these little itchy bugs that try to live in your hair," Ty Lee told her.

"EW!" Katara complained.

"Every now and then one kid would get it and then a bunch of other kids would get it, sharing hats, hair pins that kind of stuff." Mai mentioned.

"I never shared any hair items," Azula said.

"Of course not Miss. Royal Hair Pin."

"Anyway, when I put itching powder in Zuko's boxers, he got all itchy, and thought he had crabs."

"That's mean," Katara said with a laugh.

"As mean as the time I tricked Zuko into shoving Mai into the pond?"

"Dr. Sing said you did that because you had repressed feelings about your sexuality."

"He's probably right. It was still fun."

They headed out to the bar. Azula was expecting some kind of trashy dive bar but this was a classy place called Drink. You told them what flavor you liked and they made you a drink.

"I like moon peaches," Katara said. The bartender mixed moon peach juice, fire whiskey and lemon, shaking the drink with ice before serving it to her. It was really tasty.

"I want a drink that tastes like world domination," Azula told him.

Mai shook her head. "You ratchet girl!"

He poured whiskey, bitters, lime, mint and ice in a shaker before straining the drink.

"This is satisfactory!"

The girls made either normal or ridiculous requests depending on their mood. Mai took the cake when she said, "I want a drink that tastes like a bride who wants to smack her fiancée in the face."

He poured rum, hot sauce, lime, sugar and sparkling water into a glass.

She took a sip. "Very nice."

They tipped the bartender handsomely for indulging their antics.

"Come again," he said as he left. He could use the money.

"Where's the carriage?" Azula asked drunkenly.

"It's coming to us," Ty Lee told her.

"But it's not here, and I want to sit-sit."

"Sit-sit."

"Yeah, cause me drunk-drunk."

"What?" Ty Lee laughed.

"She gets like this when she's had a bit too much."

"Lies, I can drink more than this!"

"Usually, you've eaten more than one meal today."

"She only ate dinner?" Mai asked.

"Her anxiety hasn't been so good over the past few days," Katara admitted.

When the carriage did come, the four girls went back to the palace.

Katara got her wife in bed.

Mai found her husband. "Zu-zu-ko. Crap, now I'm doing it too."

"What's wrong you?"

"Just some drink-drank!"

"Ty Lee got you drunk?"

"Bachelorette party. Started at the spa!"

Zuko shook his head as Mai came to sit on his lap. "We had fun!"

"Was it just you two?"

"No, your sister and your sister-in-law came too!"

"Where are they?"

"I think Azula went sleep-sleep."

* * *

Once Zuko got Mai settled, he went to see about his sister.

"She's out for the count," Qiu told her.

"Did she tell you she was leaving?"

"No. She implied that she'd be at dinner that night."

"You didn't notice her leaving?"

"I think she left from her pavilion."

Oh right, dragon. Zuko didn't know what to do with her. In less than three days, it would be his wedding. How was he supposed to deal with a sister who refused to talk to their mother? "Do you have any ideas on what I can do for the wedding?"

"Other than seat them strategically, so they don't see each other. I have no idea."

He could just stick them on opposite sides of the table, but it seemed too infantile.

He asked Iroh if he had any ideas and for once, the old man was stumped. "I'm not sure if I can advise you." Iroh couldn't help Ursa do something that he himself couldn't do. "I might take whatever advice Mai and Ty Lee can give you at this point."

Of course, both girls were drunk right now. Zuko knew he'd have to wait until tomorrow.

* * *

It wasn't until the next morning when Katara saw Ursa for the first time, well the first time not in a portrait.

Ursa thought Katara was a servant and asked her what was with her outfit. She was wearing what looked like sleeping robes.

"I was just going to see if the doctor could check on Azula."

"Do you always show up to work wearing sleeping robes?"

"I don't work here. I live here."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Katara, Azula's wife."

"What?" Azula's married to a woman, a water tribe girl no less. Could she not at least find a noblewoman?

"We got married last year." On her hand was a simple gold band.

The woman was too flabbergasted to speak. Katara went right past her and went to find the royal doctor. That was an unsettling encounter. No wonder Azula gets anxiety at just the mention of her.

She found the doctor who said he'd make a visit straight away.

Ursa was still standing there, when they went past. She just processed that the doctor was going to see Azula. That was what Katara had said, but she had been too preoccupied by Katara's revelation.

Immediately, she went to inquire about this with her son.

"Mother, what can I do you for?"

"I just met Katara."

Oh right. She hadn't met Azula's wife. "I hope it was a friendly meeting."

"She married my daughter?"

"Yes."

"Is that even legal?"

"We don't have any laws against it, although they got married at Katara's tribe."

"MY DAUGHTER MARRIED A PEASANT IN A SNOW BANK!"

Azula and Katara couldn't hear Ursa's voice but Mai and Ty Lee could.

"Oh I knew this was going to be a joyful reunion," Mai said bitterly.

"Well, technically, she married a princess since she made Katara her consort before the wedding."

"Out of all of the ridiculous things I ever heard, how could you allow this?"

Zuko was stunned. "It was what she wanted."

"Azula has always wanted lots of things. None of them were ever any good for her. What is she supposed to do with a wife? She can't have children with one."

"I'm not sure if Azula wants kids," Zuko said. He would actually be surprised if she did.

"And what about the nobility? How did they react to?"

To her, marrying a woman was worse than killing the Avatar.

"If any of them disapprove, they have been careful not to speak about it publicly."

Mai reminded Zuko that he had a meeting to prepare for.

"Thanks Mai. I'll be right out." He turned to his mother. "I know this isn't what you imagined for Azula, but she's happy, genuinely happy, and she's not trying to wage war or conquer anything. I think that's a good thing."

Zuko excused himself.

When he went to get to the meeting, Mai admitted, "I made it up."

"You are an angel," he kissed her mouth.

"Half the palace could hear her yelling. Azula's anxiety is back, and I think Ursa's the reason why."

"She knew how mother would react." Azula did have a reason for wanting to stay away.

"I think she did."

Mai's words from earlier in the week had finally sunken in on his brain. This problem was bigger than he had realized.

* * *

Azula felt terrible. The doctor checked all of her vitals. "I don't think this is a physical problem?"

"What?"

"Your anxiety is manifesting itself physically, but I think the root of the problem is more emotive."

"What do I do?"

"I think the only thing you can do is talk to Ursa. I can't say it will go well, but there's something harrowing about not knowing."

He gave her a tincture to help her rest and she got some more sleep. That afternoon, Katara bathed her and they got dressed.

"Will you come with me?"

"Of course."

Katara took her hand as they went to find Azula's mother. It wasn't a surprise that she was out in the garden.

"You still wear your hair in a topknot." Ursa said as she turned to face her daughter for the first time in a decade. She looked the same, older obviously, taller although she was short, just like she was as a girl.

"And I still tie my sleeves."

"I always hated it when you did that."

"I still don't want my flame to catch fire to my clothes while I'm wearing them."

"I was ecstatic when I heard you got married. I had been afraid that you wouldn't let anyone get close enough to you to love you."

"I didn't think news of my marriage would make you very happy."

"Why would you marry a woman?"

"Because I don't like men."

"How do you know if you've never tried?"

"Have you tried to be with a woman to make sure that you didn't like them?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Women are supposed to marry men."

"Then why did I want to vomit the one time I let a boy kiss me."

"What?"

"Didn't you wonder why I never liked dolls or dressing up in stupid outfits or talking about when I was going to get married? It always sounded repulsive to me. I thought I should have been born a boy. It wasn't until I was older that I realized I didn't want to be a boy; I just wanted to not have to marry one. I thought that if I was a soldier, father's perfect soldier that I could earn my freedom. It's funny how that turned out. To escape one cage, I only ended up in another one."

"How did you even meet her?" She still wouldn't acknowledge Katara by name.

"I fought her in Omashu and tried to kill her several times. I abducted her once. She saved the Avatar after I killed him, and she saved Zuko after I shot him. Years later, we became friends and before I knew it, I fell in love with her."

"Why did you try to kill your brother?"

She loves changing the subject when she's uncomfortable. "He stood in between me and my crown. It was a sham at that point. Ozai planned on making me his puppet anyway, but I deserved that crown.

I didn't quit when he'd burn me for messing up my katas. I trained on broken glass to make me faster. I learned how to throw lightening after he locked me out of the palace and said I couldn't come back until I could do it.

My loyalty to the country never wavered. Zuko seemed to change his left and right. He ran away just to come back and take what I had spent half my life working for. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't fail. I had lost everything at that point except for that crown, and at the time, I'd have rather died than given it to him."

Ursa knew that Ozai's methods were violent, but it was so much worse to hear it out of her daughter's mouth.

"Would things have been different if I had stayed?"

"Probably not. Ozai still would have burned me. I still would be gay. I don't know what you think would have changed. I used to blame you for leaving, but that isn't what really hurt. What really hurt was that you were never there at all. Zuko had you. Zuko had Iroh. The only person who cared about me at all was Lu Ten and he died. Azulon died, and you left. Zuko left. Iroh left. Even Mai and Ty Lee left. Everybody leaves me, and I'll always be doomed to wonder why."

* * *

For the second time that day, Ursa was left speechless. Azula went back to her room. Katara would follow her, but first she had something to say.

"Azula is the best thing that ever happened to me. She's been nothing but supportive of me, and somehow she learned how to love, even though she hardly received any as a child. I know I was hardly the spouse you were expecting, but she chose me and I chose her. If you can accept that, then I think you should try to mend your relationship with her. If not, you may as well just leave because I'm not going anywhere."

Katara went to find her wife. Ursa had caused Azula enough pain for one lifetime. She wasn't going to let her hurt her anymore.

Ursa didn't understand why the spirits would make Azula the way she was. Things would have been so much easier if she had been straight. If she could have just liked those dolls and tea parties, then everything would have been fine.

Azula didn't come to dinner that day. She still wasn't feeling well even though she had stopped shaking like she had been before. Katara stayed with her.

The dinner that night was a quiet one. No one was really in the mood for talking.

That evening, Ursa was in her spot, drinking whiskey like she usually was.

Qiu was making her round.

"You must think I'm a lush," she hissed at the woman.

"It's not my place to make judgments."

"But you must have thoughts even if you don't voice them."

"My father drank a lot," she told Ursa. "It did not make for a happy childhood."

"Is that what you think? That my drinking caused my children to suffer the way they did."

"I wouldn't know, but I doubt it helped."

"You try being married to Ozai."

"I don't expect that I'll get married," Qiu admitted.

"Why wouldn't you get married?"

"I can't say I like men."

"Is this some kind of fad? I never even heard of people marrying the same gender. Sure there were those couples who never had sex and you maybe wondered about them, but back in my day, people had a little respect."

"It hardly seems like the ways you have learned have made you very happy. You drink a lot, and you always drink alone."

Ursa pouted.

"I can hardly say that I am an expert in family relationships or that I have any place interfering with your relationship with your older daughter, but if you drank this much when she was a child, and you don't think it affected her, you're wrong.

I don't know what kind of child Azula was, but I do know what kind of woman she is now. She's the kind of person who doesn't hesitate to come to help her wife or her friends when they're in trouble. She's too brave to back down from any fight, and too talented to be easy pickings for anyone, not even her dragon could take her down easily.

It seems as if you have a lot of skeletons in your closet. I don't know how you can deal with them, but I guarantee you that the whiskey in your hand isn't helping. Now I must continue my rounds."

Qiu hoped she didn't get fired for this.

Ursa didn't finish her drink. Damn that 18-year-old brat!

* * *

All night, Ursa tried to think about how to confront her past. She realized there was only one person she could confront. The following day, the day before her son's wedding, she went to Boiling Rock to see her ex-husband. He had a lot of explaining to do.

The ex-Fire Lord hadn't expected any visitors. He certainly didn't expect, "Ursa. So your darling son did find you after all. Why didn't you just come home? You should have realized your son wanted his teat to suckle on."

"You miserable bastard!"

"Wouldn't that be Zuko? You are the one who said he might not be mine."

"I felt bad about giving you a child and not Ikem. I made that up."

"Of course. You always did lie so easily. Azula inherited that from you."

"What the hell did you do to our daughter?"

"Our daughter. When was she ever ours? You were always so quick to dismiss her. All she ever wanted was for you to be proud of her, but nothing she ever did was good enough. Zuko could spit up on a shirt and you'd frame it."

"I always loved her, but I was afraid of what you were making her into."

"Then why didn't you ever give her any attention? Why couldn't you show her just the slightest bit of affection? What do you want me to say? That I used her to get my way? I did.

I taught her how to fight. I trained her to kill. I made sure she was dependent on me, but I needed help. Do you think she would have gravitated to me so easily if you hadn't abandoned her for Zuko? If Iroh hadn't acted like she was a fucking afterthought? If you hadn't taken out Azulon for me and left her alone in the world?

Sure I took advantage of her desperation for affection, but why do you think she got so desperate in the first place? You assumed she was heartless because she took to my teachings, but what you failed to understand was that her heart was so damn big it eclipsed everything beneath her.

She wouldn't give up. She couldn't give up because if she did she wouldn't have anyone. If she had a smaller threshold for pain or if she had less grit, she wouldn't have gone crazy. She wouldn't have let me push her until there was nothing left. She would have told me to fuck off, and she likely would have killed me in an agni kai.

Did you know on the day she snapped, she was screaming for you? You can blame me for a lot of things if you want to, but her downfall had just as much to do with you as it did with me."

"Did you rape her?"

"What?" Ozai snapped. "Are you crazy? You think she's gay because of me? I had nothing to do with that. I assumed it ran in your side of the family."

"You knew?"

"Of course I knew. The way she always followed around that circus freak like a love sick puppy, you'd have to be stupid not to know."

Ursa had no idea.

"How do you sleep at night?"

"There isn't much else to do here. Tell Iroh I said hi."

Ozai was a bastard. She knew that much when he told her she couldn't talk to her family anymore after their wedding. He was, however, a bastard that was damn good at reading people. At this point, he had no reason not to admit to his own faults when it came to raising his children. He also had no reason not to rub Ursa's face in hers.

It horrified her to think that it was her own behavior that caused Azula's coldness instead of her withdrawing from Azula because she was cold, but he was right. She wasn't born that way. There was a time, even though it was so long ago, when Ursa picked up her daughter and held her so happily.

She was so excited to have a girl. Ozai wanted another boy, a spare heir, as it were, but Azula was perfect. She thought Azula would be free of the nastiness of fighting, the evilness of war, but she got thrown right into the fire at only 14. If Ursa had only opened her eyes sooner, then maybe she could have stopped it.

* * *

When she got back to the palace, Noren asked her where she had gone.

"I went to Boiling Rock."

"What is that?"

"A prison."

"You went to see OZAI!"

"I had something that was unresolved. I won't go back." She said no more as she went to her daughter's door.

Katara thought it was their tea when she opened it, and was surprised to see her mother in law.

"Is Azula here?"

"She is." Katara stepped back, and Azula was sitting in her armchair.

The room was not at all what Ursa would have envisioned. It had paintings on the wall; presumably, Katara had decorated it when she moved in. There was a couch for guests as well as a dining table with two dinner chairs and an armchair, which was close to the bookshelf.

The bedroom connected to an office and a bathroom. There was a pavilion on the outside. It was more of an apartment than a bedroom. Katara had half of the closet space and half of the drawers, half of each drawer, because they couldn't agree on who got top and who got bottom. Azula said she should get the top since she was the top, but Katara said she was taller, so she should get the taller drawers. Instead, they split them all down the middle.

Before Ursa could speak, the servant did come with their tea and pastries. She poured three cups and then went about her way.

"Azula," Ursa finally spoke. "Azula, I am so sorry."

"For?" Azula actually didn't know.

"Everything. I was so happy when I had a little girl. I was always afraid for Zuko. I knew he'd have to fight, but I thought you would get to avoid such a fate. I just knew you would grow up playing with dolls or having tea parties, but I never gave you the chance to decide for yourself. So much could have changed if I had just taken you as you were instead of trying to mold you into what I thought you should be."

Before Ursa could get out another word, her daughter hugged her. A burden that had been hanging on the princess's neck for almost a decade had finally been lifted. She held her daughter close as the younger firebender cried in relief.

It was a bittersweet sight. Katara would never get to hold her mother again.

When Ursa finally let her daughter go, she said, "I wasn't very polite when we first met. Can we start again?"

Zuko had no idea what to do for their wedding tomorrow. Mai's suggestion of just giving Azula some pot cookies and hoping for the best didn't sit well with him. Ty Lee suggested give Ursa some pot cookies too, and they might get along.

He was about to decide to do nothing and hope for the best.

To his surprise, Azula had come to dinner, with mother and her wife.

"What's going on?"

"Can't a mother spent time with her daughter?" Ursa asked as if it were nothing unusual.

Kiyi ran up to Azula. "Are you my sister?"

"I am. I'm Azula."

"I'm Kiyi!" The little girl jumped in Azula's lap and insisted on eating there, even though she had her own chair.

Azula found the little girl amusing.

"How about after dinner, I'll tell you embarrassing stories about our brother?"

"NO!" Zuko yelled while Kiyi cheered.

"Oh I got plenty including this one time when he went to the royal doctor because he thought that he had …"

"Komodo chicken pox!" Zuko interrupted, not wanting her to say crabs at the dinner table.

"Why would you think you had that?" Ursa questioned.

Mai only laughed. "Yeah, why did you think you had that?"

"Azula drew dots all over my arm and put itching powder on me!"

Azula hadn't actually done that, but now it sounded like fun. "Oh that's a good idea for a prank."

"Aw crap!"

"I got some better ones," Mai told her.

"Why would you help her?"

"You're still in the dog house."

"AW!"

"Why is he in the dog house?" Ursa questioned.

"He has committed numerous offenses."

"Can't I at least take a plea deal?"

"We'll discuss your penalty later."

"AW!" He hated being in limbo.

The tone of the dinner was much warmer than previous ones had been. Kiyi learned how to hit her brother by flinging food with her spoon.

"HEY!" Zuko complained!

"Good one!" Azula congratulated her.

Ursa frowned.

"I used to have this slingshot that I would use to launch frozen balls of tomato carrot soup at Zuko."

"Why?" Katara questioned.

"Because on a hot day, they'd splat, and mom would freak out thinking he was bleeding!" The Princess laughed.

"You were always so bad," Ursa chided.

"I just liked using my cleverness for mischief."

"Remind me to ban tomato carrot soup from the palace," Zuko told her.

"I can just use wine instead, although it doesn't freeze as well. Maybe that's better for the splat."

"I can't believe we're married."

"I know, and you said yes. You're stuck with me."

"Don't remind me."

After dessert, Azula took Kiyi to her room. "And there was this one time I tricked Zuko into throwing Mai in the pond!"

Zuko shook his head.

"You threw Mai in the pond," Ursa scolded.

"I thought I was rescuing her."

"No wonder you're in the dog house!"

Mai laughed as she walked by.

"Why me?"

Ursa went to bed early. She hadn't seen her husband as much as she should have this week.

"Are you tired already?" he asked her. The night was still young.

"No," she said with a puckish smile.

He grinned before he turned out the light.


	21. Chapter 21

**The Wedding**

Zuko was beyond nervous. What if he messed up his vows? What if Azula pranked him at the altar? Why was she a bridesmaid?

Sokka came to get him. "It's time to get to it!"

"Um, I need to …"

"Come on let's go bro!"

Sokka took Zuko and pushed him out the door.

Ty Lee walked opposite Sokka and Azula was opposite Aang. The Princess hated this stupid dress. Katara watched from above and did enjoy the view.

"Shouldn't they have found her a more chaste dress?" Ursa commented, her daughter's breasts almost hanging out.

"It had been for Mai's cousin, but she got fat," Katara told her.

"Of course." Azula would ordinarily never agree to wear such a thing.

Kiyi had been the flower girl and she was adorable as she scattered her roses about.

Mai's father walked her down the aisle. She still wasn't sure if he had been apart of the plot to kill Zuko four years earlier, but she decided to stay in contact with him, if for no other reason than to keep an eye on him.

"You look gorgeous," he told her before she got to the front. She handed her bouquet to Ty Lee. Zuko pinned back her veil and the Head Sage started to marry them.

"We are gathered here to day to witness the holy matrimony of Fire Lord Zuko and Princess Mai."

Azula had a pot cookie for breakfast. She was trying not to giggle at Zuko. He looked so nervous. He was born a dweeb.

The couple exchanged their vows.

Zuko promised to always love and cherish her. Mai said she'd be there to clean up his messes.

Azula did laugh at that; sorry Zuzu, she tried.

They kissed in front of a cheering crowd before they walked down the aisle. Princess Mai was now Fire Lady Mai.

The dragons sent a plume of fire into the air for celebration. Everyone got ready for the cocktail hour that preceded the feast.

"I'm gonna get drunk!" Sokka had a cocktail in each hand.

"Don't forget you have to give a speech," Suki cautioned.

"Hah!" Azula said. "This I have to hear!"

"I'm giving a speech too!" Ty Lee said.

Katara found her wife. "You almost made it through the ceremony without laughing."

"I blame Mai for that!"

"I'm the bride. I'm blameless all day and night!"

"Does that mean I should blame Zuko instead?"

"Sure."

"When you gonna put a ring on it?" Toph asked Sokka.

"I um …"

"It's been five years, more than that actually."

"I know but um …"

"He's still sowing his wild oats," Azula retorted.

"He better not be!" Suki threatened.

"Thanks a lot, sis!"

"I told you not to call me that."

"So who's getting married next? Will it be Snoozles and Fan girl or Twinkle Toes and the Acrobat?"

"Maybe it will be you and Haru?" Ty Lee teased.

"WHAT?" She never heard anything so ridiculous in her life.

"Toph and Haru sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!" Azula and Ty Lee sang in unison.

"You suck!" she ran away.

"Actually I don't," Azula laughed.

Ty Lee shook her head.

* * *

The cocktail hour lasted two hours. Qiu noticed Mai's father talking to some of the men on their watch list. She reported it to her c.o., but he didn't think anything of it, as it was his daughter's wedding. Qiu thought about saying nothing, but she decided to tell the Princess.

Once Azula heard the names, she knew it could easily be trouble. "Was it a short conversation?"

"No, they had their pipes out and must have been there at least 40 minutes."

Azula had some friends from the Dai Li in attendance. She asked them to keep their eyes open for signs of trouble.

She also told the royal doctor to have all his antidotes ready.

Azula kept drinking to keep up appearances. She didn't want anyone to know that she was plotting. She used her heatbending to avoid actually being drunk. She was a little buzzed, but nothing she couldn't fight with. If there were an ambush tonight, it would get ugly, for the assassins.

Once the cocktail hour was over, people started making their way to the feast. It didn't start for another thirty minutes, giving people time to find the bathroom beforehand, but people wanted to get inside. It was hot out there.

Azula asked Mai if she had her knives on her.

"Always!" There was a weapon's belt on her thigh. "What's going on?"

"Unsure yet, but I have a bad feeling that something's going to go down tonight."

"Of course it is. Make sure Ty Lee is ready."

Azula put her warm hands on Ty Lee's arm.

"What are you doing?" Ty Lee questioned.

"Helping you metabolize your booze, so you aren't drunk."

"But I got drunk on purpose."

"I know, but you need to be ready to fight tonight."

"You don't mean?"

"I think someone's going to try for a red wedding."

"Well crap!"

They needed to watch for arrows, waiters with knives, poisoned food or drink and a possible ambush at the doors.

But first, the feast started. They all got to their table. Mai's parents were on her left and Ursa and Noren were on Zuko's right.

The Dai Li watched all of the food that came out of the kitchen. Nothing looked like it had been tampered with.

When Azula saw the signal, she started to eat her food. It was a nine-course meal. The first course was an amuse bouche and the last one would be dessert.

"This is only one bite," Sokka complained.

"That's what an amuse bouche is," Suki told him.

"I'm not amused!"

This would be quite a culinary experience. Some of the best chefs in the nation came together to make this special menu.

"That was good, whatever it was," Toph said.

"I think they made up these dishes just for the wedding," Haru told her.

"Oh cool!"

Ling came with the acolytes to the wedding. He never thought he'd be at a wedding in the Fire Nation palace of all places.

"This food is awesome!" They had done a special vegetarian menu for the guests from the Southern Air Temple.

The girls were fussing over who got to dance with him first. Ling could totally get used to this. Hopefully, his family could come to the end of the war party. Ba Sing Se was about the same distance to their home as the palace, but it would be less daunting for them to go to a party in the Earth Kingdom than it would be to go to one in the heart of the Fire Nation. His mother probably had a heart attack, when he sent her a letter telling her he was coming to the Fire Lord's wedding as a guest.

After the one bite treat, came gumbo (tomato carrot soup for the vegetarians), oyster prawn ceviche (a spicy fruit salad for the vegetarians), salad, and then the main course which was either smoked cow pig, grilled unagi, or a tofu paella depending on how you rsvp'd. The last four courses included a digestif, a cheese plate (with a wine pairing), miniature steam buns (either meat or red bean) and then dessert, which was fire flake ice cream.

The room was packed and everyone was enjoying his or her meal, eating, drinking and chatting with those to the left and to the right. The wine kept coming to the tables, keeping people drunk and happy. Aang didn't partake and Ling alternated between booze and water. He did not want his first public outing to make him appear to be a lush.

Azula would periodically heatbend her wife to help her with the alcohol.

"Thanks for the assist," she whispered.

"Always."

Ursa's tolerance was higher than most, and she could use her heatbending to avoid getting too drunk. Noren was trashed. Kiyi said, "Daddy looks funny!" Everyone at the table laughed.

During the digestif, it was time for the speeches. Ty Lee went first.

"Mai is a thinker. You can tell because she rarely smiles." The crowd started to laugh. "While she is contemplating what is around her, Zuko is often getting his foot caught in his mouth. Mai seems disinterested, but she is really figuring out how to undo whatever Zuko just did."

Zuko frowned. Mai rubbed his hand.

"I think my best example of this was when Zuko and Mai were at the market. It was their two-year anniversary, and he took her to celebrate by getting her favorite pastries as a snack on the way to their date. As they were getting the pastries, the shopkeeper, a female, looked pregnant. So Zuko broke the cardinal rule and asked her when her baby was due. As it turned out, she had just gained a few kilos, and they all went towards her stomach."

"OOOH!" the crowd laughed.

"She immediately got angry; apparently people said this to her all the time and she finally snapped, and she tried to strike Zuko with her wok. Mai instinctively threw her stilettos at the woman's arm, pinning her to the back wall, and Zuko ran off with the steam buns, Mai protecting his blindside as they got away.

Zuko and Mai, I wish you two a lifetime of happiness. Mai, I hope you packed your stilettos for your honeymoon!"

The crowd was laughing boisterously.

"Only Sparky would do that," Toph lamented.

Sokka went next. "I have my own Maiko story that I hope will delight you all."

"He did not just say Maiko," Katara muttered.

"It was at the second End of the War Party in Ba Sing Se when…"

Suddenly an arrow came towards Sokka. Thinking quickly, Ling deflected it, making it hit the wall behind him.

Mai had a knife in her hand. She turned around just to see the waiter coming for Zuko's neck and got him in the shoulder. The man was forced to drop his knife. Ty Lee quickly chi blocked him before he could try to get away. He collapsed on the ground.

Azula was crouched, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

The room quickly got filled with assailants and the most of the guests were too drunk to do anything, even try to get away. Apparently, someone had bribed the catering company into pouring heavy that night. They had been working on getting people tanked since the cocktail hour.

The attacking men had all kinds of weapons, jiis, swords and hammers attacked to chains and about half of them were also firebenders. There were about 30 of them in all, but they were in two different groups, emerging from the western and the northern doors.

* * *

Most of the guards were MIA. Several of them had been knocked out, allowing for the attack in the first place.

Qiu, however, was waiting for her chance to strike, hiding in the corner behind the offending brigade. Like Xiao Long had instructed, she would wait until the last moment.

Azula quickly channeled her dragon.

_The wedding is under attack. _

Xiao Long had been meandering around outside. _Do you think I can fit through the doors?_

_If you come in at an angle._

_I'm on it!_

Azula didn't have time to wait for the rescue. She quickly jumped to the front, challenging the intruders to a fight.

"Oh you'll get it Princess!"

A hammer came flying at her from across the room. She ran towards it, grabbing the chain and sending it back the other way with a harsh pull, and it managed to strike the owner in the chest, making him crash into the wall and lose consciousness. The Princess sent a giant blast of fire on the heels of the hammer attack and the fight was on.

Ling was excited to get some real fighting action. He had trained most of his life but never had a chance to actually fight, other than his previous bout with the Princess. He conjured up a windstorm and sent it at the mercenaries, gashing them with his razor like wind.

The audience was stunned. Most of them did not know there was another airbender. Who was this man and where had he come from?

Mai was throwing knives. Ty Lee was at a disadvantage since she attacked from up close and the fighters had weapons that could strike her long before she could get close enough to chi block them. Instead of approaching the mob, she stayed back to defend the royal family.

With both mobs distracted by Azula's unexpected ability to challenge them, Qiu was able to attack the second group from behind, taking out two men with her firebending before she had been spotted.

Once the men did notice her however, she was in trouble. It was 13 on 1 and she was up against a wall.

She sent a wall of fire, knowing it wasn't enough, but hoping that she could buy time until the rest of the guards showed up. They should have been here already, but Qiu couldn't wait for them to appear. She had to confront the threat now.

When the wall failed, Qiu expected to die or at least to get seriously injured. Instead, a gust of wind sent her assailants flying at her. She ducked, causing them to crash into the wall behind her instead of hitting her.

Aang had confronted the mob. Toph joined him, using her metalbending to shackle them as they tried to recover from a vicious air attack. Aang had learned the move from Ling and although he had been hesitant to use it against someone, he figured an attempted red wedding was a good enough reason.

Azula remembered why she hated dresses when she tried to fight in this tight yellow one. When a dagger gashed Azula's arm, Ursa snapped. She jumped over the table, an amazing feat in her dress, and started sending fireballs at the man holding the bloody blade, burning him out of anger as he tried to protect his face.

"That is one pissed off mama," Ty Lee commented as Azula regrouped and focused on the remaining threats.

Zuko had wanted to fight, but Iroh urged him to stand down. He was the head target and Azula was bred for this. He hated the idea of using his sister as his shield, but he was right. Azula had no qualms about being outmatched. Just when it couldn't get any more obvious that this attack had been a bad idea, Azula's dragon flew through the west doors and started headbutting any foe still standing. They were no match for a dragon in such confined quarters. Their long ranged weapons proved useless against her.

"Where were those guards?" Zuko demanded to know.

"I was right here," Qiu said, her armor a bit dented from the fight but other than that unscathed. "I don't know where the other ones went. I saw one missing from his post, so I rang the alarm but the rope was cut. It didn't do anything. I came right here, but I was the only one who showed."

When they searched the palace, they found passed out guards stuffed into closets. They were unsure of what happened to them

"I was at my post and then I was out."

They all had similar stories.

The doctor rubbed one guard's face with a rag and said, "There's an chemical on his face. Someone must have knocked him out with it."

"How did they get through the mask?" Zuko questioned.

"They could have vaporized it, so it knocked them out anyway."

"But wouldn't that have gotten to the people inside?" Mai questioned.

"What if they tampered with the masks?" Azula questioned. "Most guards don't put them on until their shifts start. If the assailants knew where the locker room was, they could have put the chemicals in the mask before the new shift showed up."

"Meaning they would all pass out near the same time, giving a perfect chance to strike," Mai added.

"But Qiu didn't pass out?" Zuko pointed out

"I take my uniform home," she told them. "I don't change in the locker room for obvious reasons."

"Where's the head guard?" Iroh questioned.

They found him tied up and gagged. He immediately blamed Mai's father. "He said he had a new business opportunity to discuss with me. I followed him and the next thing I know, I woke up in here."

The man had been buttering him up for weeks. It's why he didn't think anything of Qiu's report to him.

* * *

Mai's father and his other associates got arrested that night. He didn't say a word. He was just going to wait for his lawyer.

"Why would he attack when his daughter just became Fire Lady?" Aang questioned.

"Because he was going to take out the entire line of Sozin and try to become the next Fire Lord," Azula told him. "He was unhappy with the post Zuko had given him after the war and started planning to get rid of him right away. He had to halt his plans when I came home because I had convinced some of his then allies to support Zuko's new government.

He spent the last four years trying to get both the money for the mercenaries and enough support to make his family the next royal family. He thought that having Mai be the widow daughter would get the public on his side."

"How did you learn all of this so quickly?" Mai questioned.

"I never really trusted him when I came back to the palace. There were too many former associates of his implicated in plans to kill Zuko. I knew he would know if I was watching him, so I purposefully told the intelligence team not to watch him.

Instead, I told them to watch his friends and over the past month, a lot of money changed hands through various intermediaries. To try and cover up the trail, they ran all of the money for the assassination through Republic City, but I got a heads up about it.

One of the bankers thought it suspicious that money kept coming from the Fire Nation to Republic City and right back. I knew an attack was coming, but I didn't know when. It wasn't until my conversation with Qiu this afternoon that I realized it was likely tonight.

I didn't want to halt the festivities or create a panic, so I had the Dai Li make sure the food wasn't poisoned and made sure to stay sober in case I needed to fight. I knew Aang wasn't drinking, Ling wouldn't be too drunk and even if Toph were plastered, she'd still be ready to kick some butt, so I had to hope it was enough.

In hindsight, I should have told Xiao Long to just come in and level them."

Katara folded her arms. "And why didn't you tell me any of this?"

"Because you're a horrible liar," Azula said. "If you even suspected something was up, Mai's father would have known I had him. I wouldn't have let anything happen to you."

"Oh I know that," Katara snapped. "But we're a team. I have to look out for you too, and I can't do that if I don't know assassins are going to storm the wedding."

Azula kissed her nose. "I promise to make it up to you."

"Oh you will, and you're not using sex."

Zuko groaned.

"Even if I just do you?"

"Too much fun for you. It satisfies your egomania."

Damn! "Well I'll come up with something else. Anyway, we should go back to the wedding. There's a cake to eat and all other kinds of stuff to do."

The guests sobered up while the investigation had halted the wedding. When the royal family returned, Azula announced, "there had been an attempt to wipe out the royal family. All of the nobles involved have been arrested. Party on!"

Mai knew not to trust her father. It still pissed her off that he tried to kill Zuko today. "I guess there will be no father/daughter dance."

"I'd be delighted to dance with you," Iroh offered.

"I gladly accept."

Zuko and Mai danced together first.

"So glad you packed your knives."

"I could kill your sister for keeping so many secrets."

"If she didn't though, would she still be Azula?"

"Since when are you insightful?"

"I didn't think you could firebend like that," Azula said to her mother as they watched Zuko try to dance.

"I didn't either. He just made me so mad when he hurt you."

"It was fun wasn't it?"

Ursa frowned before she laughed. "Yeah that was awesome."

* * *

The rest of the guards were back on duty once the doctor cleared them. The head guard however, was under investigation. Azula was troubled that he ignored a major warning sign at the wedding and that he had "absentmindedly" told Mai's father about the guard's locker room and shift schedule. If he wasn't in on it, his competency was clearly questionable.

He may be looking at forced retirement.

Aang was introducing Ling to the rest of Team Avatar.

"Those airbending moves were sick nasty awesome!" Sokka told him.

"Snoozles, you're lucky that arrow missed you."

"It wasn't luck. I deflected it," Ling said."

"You can airbend that quickly?"

Ling airbended Toph into a gentle gust of air.

"Dang! Twister boy."

"Well hopefully, this will be the last attack on the palace," Katara said before she kissed her wife. They were dancing happily.

"I think we sent the message loud and clear." Azula would be seizing the assets of every noble involved with the attack. It would serve as a deterrent to anyone who thought they could get away with such a thing and it would make the Crown a fair bit of money.

The rest of the party went as planned from the cake to the fireworks.

Zuko and Mai thanked everyone for coming, and especially those who helped quell the insurrection.

He carried her in his arms and they were off.

"Don't drop her Zuzu!"

"Shut up Azula!"

"OW!" Mai yelled at him as he accidentally carried her into the wall.

"Sorry!"

Azula snickered.

"You're terrible," Ursa told her.

"Just doing my job."

"Which is?"

"Annoying my big brother."

"Speaking of annoying brothers," Katara went off to go mess with Sokka. She made a cup of ice cubes and dropped them down his shirt.

"OH MY SPIRITS COLD!" he yelled as he danced all over the floor.

Suki laughed at him.

"You didn't see that coming," Sokka complained.

"I saw it, but …"

"Betrayal!"

Sokka vowed to get his revenge.

He quickly forgot about his vow, however, when Suki came back with more cake.

* * *

Zuko and Mai had to wait for the guards to check their room for assassins or sabotage before properly enjoying their wedding night.

"I'm glad I didn't die tonight," Zuko said before he kissed his wife.

"Yeah, me too."

The Fire Lady had bought a special outfit to change into before they consummated their marriage.

Zuko burped fire when he saw her come out in a white, lacy, he didn't know what it was called, but it looked hot.

"Does that mean you like what you see?" She had a smirk on her face as she straddled him.

He nodded. His heated hands made their way up to her breasts before she pushed them away.

"I'm in charge."

"Yes my Lady."

She put her hands on her shoulder and slid down, so her body was right on top of his. She wouldn't admit it, but she asked Ty Lee to teach her a few tricks for her wedding night. She really wanted to rock his world.

"Dim the lights. I want you to be able to see me as we do this."

Her voice was sultry and Zuko was trying not to lose it just looking at her. He was really glad he was alive right now.

* * *

Mai's father wasn't taken to Boiling Rock. With his brother in law still the warden, Zuko decided to send him elsewhere. He should have known that Azula was too smart, that she would get in the way.

Their plan would have been perfect without her. Kill Sokka while he's making a speech. While everyone's distracted, stick a knife in Zuko's neck. Azula had a reputation for being drunk at weddings. The way she had been drinking, he was sure that she'd slip up, that the mercenaries would be able to take her down. Iroh, the pathetic bastard, didn't even put up a fight. He was content with letting Azula do the fighting. They could have taken him. He hasn't done any real training in five years.

Mai's father gave everything to Ozai and Azulon before him. He deserved more than he got from that jerkoff Zuko and it's not like Mai's being Fire Lady would have gotten him anything. Maybe she comes by to visit Tom Tom, but she offered him nothing over the five years she's had the Fire Lord under her thumb. That ungrateful bitch!

His wife had only been a pawn. She didn't know that the seating chart had been arranged the way it was to keep them out of harm's way during the ambush, to put Zuko in a place where he could be easily stabbed in the neck, to leave Azula front and center to the danger.

He wondered if she'd get arrested too or if Mai would help her out. Who cares?


	22. Chapter 22

**July 105AG**

Zuko and Mai went on a two-week honeymoon as planned. As penance for her secret keeping, Azula got stuck figuring out what to do about the failed assassination attempt. Out of the 30 or so mercenaries, only 25 of them were nationals. The five who weren't couldn't be charged with treason, but they could be charged with attempted murder and face additional charges in the Earth Kingdom. 3 of them were in critical condition; one of them would likely not survive the week. Most of them, however, would live to face trial.

Azula had half a mind to just hang them all, but she knew Zuko would find that unacceptable. For now, they were either in Boiling Rock or the hospital. She had Mai's uncle on careful watch.

"If any of them escape, it's your head, and I'm not my brother. I'm not very forgiving."

She also needed to decide what to do with the treacherous nobles. The five who got arrested at the party, their bank accounts were frozen and their houses got searched for evidence. All of them were married and with at least one child at home. If Azula left the families homeless, there could be political blowback.

She also had to figure out who supported these men. If Mai's father thought he could be Fire Lord, then he would have needed more support than his partners in crime to ensure the deal.

She asked the Head Sage how is a new royal family selected in the event that the current family gets wiped out.

"When they selected Sozin, they had a weighted vote. The more property the noble owned, the more his vote was worth."

"Was it a majority vote?"

"No, a plurality vote. There were two other candidates, but Sozin got 40% of the possible points." The second man got 35% and the last man got 25%. "He didn't need a lot of people to support him. He had only needed enough big players."

"Can nobles vote for themselves?"

"No, their points get redistributed amongst the rest."

"How many points could these four men get on their own?"

When the Head Sage did the math, he said, "25%"

"So if there was another popular candidate, there would have been no certainty that he would win."

"Not without more nobles."

"I see."

Azula had a tough job ahead. She had to gather her own allies.

Katara wanted her wife to come to bed. "You've been working non-stop since they left."

"Well someone put me in charge of catching the traitors."

"But you caught them all."

"No, I didn't. These five men couldn't have won the vote to make Mai's father Fire Lord by themselves. They must have been counting on some other nobles to vote for them, which means there were silent partners who we didn't catch."

Katara frowned. "There are people who wanted you dead who are still out there."

"Now you know why I haven't come back to bed."

Katara frowned. "I do."

Azula kissed her. "Don't worry. I will catch them, and make them pay, and we will have all the victory sex."

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in!"

It was Qiu. "I supervised the changing of the guard. Everything's normal."

"Very good. Good night."

"Good night Princesses."

She made her exit.

* * *

Two days later, Azula found herself having dim sum with her allies. She wanted to show that the Crown did have allies. They weren't just sitting ducks.

"I must say, I'm surprised by this public gathering," one nobleman told her as he grabbed a steam bun. "I would have thought that you would prefer more privacy."

"Normally I do, but sometimes I need to make an appearance."

"To show that the Crown is unafraid and unwavering, of course."

"How can we help?" the youngest nobleman asked as he filled his plate.

"Do you all know how Sozin became Fire Lord?"

"Wasn't it a vote?" the young man said.

"It was, a noblemen's vote, but the vote was weighted. The men with more property got more of a say. It was also a plurality vote, so Sozin didn't need a majority to win. He just needed to get more votes than the other two men who wanted to be Fire Lord."

She studied their faces. None of them seem to have put much thought to how new families are formed. She could tell.

"I am telling you this because Mai's father wanted to be Fire Lord. He thought he would win the vote that would have happened if my family had died. However, even with his co-conspirators all throwing their weight behind him, he wouldn't have had enough votes to win. Either he can't do math or …"

"There are silent partners."

"Exactly, and I need help finding them."

It sounds easier to get a few big voters, but they are the hardest to sway. They know what they are worth, and with their clout, they may make their own bid for Fire Lord. If you could get the right number of easily swayed noblemen, however, you could gobble just enough votes to make it hard for anyone else to get a majority. If you get two bigheaded men who won't back down, then game over, you win.

"If they are smart, they will stay quiet and try to act like nothing has changed. I need the information that is hardest to get. I need to know who was cavorting with the jailed nobles before the assassination attempt."

This is where restaurateurs came in. Often these meetings happened in places like this and if the staff has a good memory, you can reconfigure the past. "You want us to pump our staff for information."

"I would say wheedle it out of them. I don't want a signal going off to the silent partners."

"Consider it done Princess."

* * *

When Zuko and Mai came back, they found that lower security prison had been retrofitted to hold Mai's father and the other nobles.

"Four of the five families have renounced their patriarch and sworn their allegiance to the Crown."

"Isn't that always the case?" Mai said dryly.

"Guess who didn't."

"My mother."

"Guessed right." She swore up and down that her husband was innocent, even after her own servants rolled on him.

Mai shook her head. "What else is new?"

"We're going to have to stagger the trials, since there are so many. We're starting with the mere mercenaries and working our way up. Five of them took plea deals to get out of a life sentence." Of course, they were the five not facing treason charges. "When their sentences are complete, they will receive a lifetime ban from the Fire Nation and will deported back to the Earth Kingdom."

"How are we doing this?" Zuko asked.

"Well, each trial should take 2 weeks to actually administer, but the prep work usually takes a month, so we set our first group of trials for September, and will have trials in October, November, and December. We expect more plea deals, so it should be over by then."

"Are you still going to the tribe?"

"Yes, but Katara's going first. She'll get there in the end of August and I'll join her once the first trial is complete, about three weeks later." Azula hated the thought of being without her lover, but she knew Katara wanted to get home to her Gran Gran.

Zuko took over now that he was back. Mai helped him figure out whom to hire since the arrests had left a few government posts vacant.

Qiu was the temporary head of security. Her boss had been sent for retraining and would be allowed back once he passed his certification. He was lucky not to be fired, and he knew it.

**August 105AG**

The End of the War Party was in Ba Sing Se this year. Ling had spent the past two months convincing his family to go. After the assassination attempt at the wedding, they were even wearier of the public sphere, but he convinced them that threat was over.

"It's going to be awesome!" he declared.

The acolytes were excited to meet Ling's family. To think there were hidden airbenders all this time.

Aang was meeting Ty Lee at the party. To think, it had been a year since they started dating. They had survived two weddings and two assassination attempts together. He couldn't wait to see her.

"Someone's daydreaming about his lady friend," Ling teased.

"Maybe I am!"

"Come on! It's time to go."

When they got to Ba Sing Se, it was even larger than Ling had imagined. "This city is huge."

"It has three rings," Aang told him.

"How big is this party going to be?"

"Bigger than Zuko's wedding." His wedding, though it had people from around the world, was really a Fire Nation event. This was a world event and it showed. People were already queuing up to get in line when the doors wouldn't open for at least an hour.

"Do we have to get in that line?"

"Nah. World leaders and their guests can go in a faster way."

"You're a world leader?"

"I lead the Air Nation."

"Most of its airbenders aren't even there," Ling teased.

"Maybe your family should repopulate the temples then."

"Actually, that'd be pretty cool. We got enough sky bison to get everyone around."

Ling didn't think his family would actually do that, at least not for a few years. They had built a lot in their quirky neck of the woods. It's home.

They went to get changed before entering the party.

Katara was getting ready in her inn room.

Mai came to get something from Azula only to learn the princess wasn't there. "Did she leave?"

"She said she had to take Qiu to do something."

"Oh, do you know where she keeps her extra flask?"

Katara handed it to her.

"Thanks." Kuei always has some boring speech to open up the party. They decided to take a shot each time he said something about the strength of Ba Sign Se or how it has been revived after being conquered.

"Drinking game?"

"Yeah."

"I have my own way of pre-gaming," Katara bit into a pot cookie!

* * *

Azula took Qiu to see Qiang's grave. The guard had never been able to visit it before. It's not like she could afford to just go to Ba Sing Se on her own and her time with the navy had never brought her here.

"I still can't believe it's been 10 years," she said.

"I hadn't realized you lost your brother in the siege." Azula felt like she should have known.

"I didn't really advertise it. I wanted to get into the military on my own merits, not my brother's."

"I know this is a weird question, but how did he die?" Azula never really learned how Lu Ten died. He just died.

Qiu faced her. "One of the Earth Kingdom soldiers charged Lu Ten with his sword. My brother ran out of time, so he shoved Lu Ten out of the way, taking the hit instead. He died within the hour."

Azula's face twisted in pain and confusion. "I had no idea."

"I didn't either, until I received a letter from Lu Ten. He knew my brother had joined the war because my family didn't have a lot of money." The country had paid a lot to the soldiers at the beginning but as time went on, the salary went down and down and so did the pensions.

"He sent us this," Qiu always carried Lu Ten's gold watch with her. It was a reminder that at least some of the royal family recognized her family's sacrifice. "To sell, but my dad refused to do that. He said after almost 100 years of sacrificing for the royal family, this was the first time we had ever gotten anything back. He said we'd give it back to Lu Ten when the war was over, but he died a month later."

Azula remembered her cousin as a good firebender, a noble soldier, but she didn't know him personally very well. He had done three military tours. He wasn't home a lot during their childhood. She wasn't surprised that he was a good person, a better person than anyone else in her family had been.

They say only the good die young. Azula wondered if it had been hard for Lu Ten to go on, knowing that another man had sacrificed his life for him. She wondered if he died saving someone else, so he wouldn't have to deal with the guilt anymore. "Were they friends?"

Qiu nodded. "He came to take my brother out for drinks a few days before they deployed. They had served together twice before."

"Why did you take the job protecting my family? It seems that we've cost yours so much, and a watch, although it is nice, is hardly enough remuneration."

"I always admired my brother, but I never really knew him. I wanted to be a soldier because he was a soldier, and when he died, I wanted to join the military because it was the closest I would ever get to seeing the world through his eyes.

My father always said that my dreams were foolish that a girl could never really make it in the military, but then you conquered Ba Sing Se. You were only a year older than I was, but you took down a city that had been standing for 100 years. I knew my dream was possible, and I was determined to make it happened.

After the war ended, however, I admit I was skeptical. How did a family wage war for 100 years just to say, well maybe we shouldn't have done that? I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but then you came back. I still wasn't sure if I trusted the government as it was, but I trusted you to make it better.

I enlisted in the navy, and the salary was decent, but it was a bit boring. The most excitement I got was when pirates took over our vessel and most of my comrades were wimps. I fought my way out of the brig and took on the Pirate Captain alone because everyone else just wanted to stay put and wait for a ransom to be paid.

I knew I needed to do something more with my time, and when there was an opening at the royal palace I knew I wanted to protect you. It might sound stupid to follow the footsteps of my brother. He did die after all but …"

"It doesn't sound stupid at all."

They made their way back to the inn. On the way, Qiu thanked Azula for going with her. It would have been too nerve-wracking to go along.

"I should be thanking you," and your family for their loyalty after all these years.

Azula always visited Lu Ten's grave when she went to Ba Sing Se. This was the first time that she didn't go alone.

* * *

When she got back to the room, Katara said, "You have to get a move on. We're supposed to leave in 20 minutes."

"I know. I'll be ready."

Toph and Haru started pre-gaming before the party. They also brought their flasks for a drinking game.

When they got there, they saw Ling and Aang.

"You take a shot every time there's a reference to Azula's conquering of Ba Sing Se," she told Ling.

"How many times will that happen?" Aang asked them.

"Probably five."

"It's a good game," Haru told him.

Aang skipped for obvious reasons, but Ling was down to play.

"Jie, come learn this new game!"

His cousin airbended over to where he had been standing, startling the crowd. "I wanna play!"

"Get a drink," Toph told her.

"I'm on it!" She airbended away looking for booze.

"Does she do that a lot?" Haru asked.

"She's used to only being around airbenders. We forget other people find that weird."

People got to their seats as Kuei began to talk.

"This is going to be so boring," Azula told her wife.

"We already had two pot cookies before we got here."

"We should have had like five."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Where were you anyway?"

"I promised Qiu I'd go with her to visit her brother."

"I didn't know she had a brother."

"He died. We went to his grave today."

"Oh!" how depressing. "Was he a soldier?"

"Yeah he was."

To Zuko's delight/horror, Kuei mentioned the resilience of Ba Sing Se or its conquering eight times.

Around the room, people got loaded very quickly.

"Does Kuei know he just got half the room really drunk?"

"Probably not!"

It showed when the cocktail hour started.

"Why is everyone so drunk?" Azula asked Katara.

"A lot of people played a drinking game during Kuei's speech."

"No one told me!"

"Aw, was Princess Firebitch left out?" Toph laughed.

Azula tripped her.

"You bitch!"

"I guess I live up to the nickname."

Ling airbended her upright. "You pre-game too hard?"

"No! She tripped me."

"I'm surprised you didn't see it coming."

Azula laughed. "Oh cause she's blind!"

"Haha, make fun of the blind girl!"

"Oh that sounds like a good game," Haru teased.

Toph flipped him off.

"Let me make it up to you," Azula said.

"How?"

Azula grabbed her arm, raising her metabolism.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping you metabolize your booze."

"I can earthbend again!"

"Oh crud!"

Azula stepped back in case Toph wanted to retaliate for earlier.

* * *

Iroh and Zuko were talking. "So how is the investigation going?" He questioned.

"It's going pretty well. The first trial is in a month. We got another 5 plea deals, so we won't have as many trials."

"How many trials are scheduled?"

"25 at the moment," Zuko said.

"That's still a lot."

"It's going to take about four months to get through them all."

"If there's anything I can do to help …."

"I think we're good, but I'll let you know."

Iroh would have stayed after the wedding to help, but he needed to get back to his teashop. He figured Zuko would have known what to do on his own.

Iroh noticed Qiu talking to a water tribe woman, now who could she be?

Katara introduced Uma to Qiu. Maybe she could leave Azula be if she had her own firebender.

"So you're in the royal guard?"

"I am."

"I bet that keeps you in good shape."

"It does," Qiu blushed.

Uma raked her nails over her stomach. "Maybe I could help you test out your stamina."

"She's going to eat Qiu alive," Azula told Katara.

"I know."

"You're so bad."

Katara kissed her nose. "I thought you liked that about me."

"Oh I do, you naughty princess." Azula kissed her.

"OOGIES!" Sokka complained!

"We're married, so there's nothing you can do about it."

"When are you getting married?" Katara questioned.

"Not you too! I got another letter from Gran Gran about it."

"She's not getting any younger," Azula told him.

"UGH!" Sokka ran away.

"Messing with him is fun," Katara said.

"Yeah I know. Speaking of brothers, let's go bother Zuzu!"

"I've never seen such shiny silverware," Jie told them.

"You're such a simpleton," Ling teased.

She airbended his drink in his face. "You butthead!"

"Hey, no fighting at the table!" Chao scolded.

Everyone was whispering about these mystery airbenders. When Kuei asked Aang who they were, he said, "they are airbenders who were hiding out in the Earth Kingdom during the war. I found them when I went looking for sky bison."

"Are they my citizens now?" He had never heard of them

Aang shook his head. "They're living in United Republic."

Kuei wasn't very thrilled when he learned the territory he had given away had the rest of the airbenders. They could have proven to be very useful citizens.

Some of them brought homemade brandy and were sharing it with the guests.

"You could make a lot of money selling this," Sokka told them as he took a swig. "It's really good."

Jie had been giving it away all this time. "Maybe we should sell it. We could raise money for charity."

"You could do that," or just be rich.

Aang started dancing with Ty Lee after dinner.

"I can't believe it's been a year," Ty Lee said. It seems like they've been together so much longer.

"I know. It feels like we've always been this way."

She kissed him. "I want us to always be just like this."

"Me too." Before he could think it though he said, "Will you marry me?"

"YES!" she shrieked happily, alarming those nearby. She hugged him and he pulled her into a kiss.

"I don't have a ring yet, but …" he took off his bracelet and put it on her.

"It's perfect."

It didn't take long for word of the engagement to spread through the party. Ty Lee told Suki who told the warriors. She had also told Mai who told Zuko who told Azula and Katara. Aang told Ling and who told his cousins who told everyone.

"When are you gonna get hitched?" Toph teased Sokka.

"Not you too!"

"You've had 5 years. Aang proposed after 1. Firebitch didn't even wait for 1. Zuko finally got hitched. You and me are the only single ones left and you're old!"

"I can't believe it. My friends are all in matrimony. I thought I had five more years before this!"

Toph laughed at him and smacked his back.

Azula gave Ty Lee a congratulatory hug. "And you said you weren't gonna settle down?"

"We haven't set a date yet. I need at least a year."

"I'm happy for you, and settling down is nice."

"Aw, you softie," Ty Lee pinched her cheek.

"Don't make me burn you!"

Aang and Katara were dancing. "So you and Ty Lee?"

"Yeah."

"I should have seen it sooner. Not a lot of girls could keep up with your energy levels."

"She's so hyper she doesn't make me feel hyper."

"Now that's saying something."

"Who do you think is next?"

"Honestly, Haru and Toph might beat Sokka at his rate."

"Ouch!"

"I call it like I see it."

"Maybe Suki should ask him."

"She probably should if she wants the wedding to happen before she's 25."

They went back to their partners. Couples old and new went around the dance floor. The acolytes were excitedly getting to know the other airbenders.

Ling and Xing Ying were dancing together. Their children, if they had any, would likely have interesting names.

Zuko held Mai in his arms as they went around the floor. "The marriage rush is happening."

"Oh I know."

"When do you think the baby rush will happen?"

Mai shrugged. "I think we have a couple of years before that."

"Aang doesn't have to rush, now that he knows there will be more airbenders than just his kids."

"Oh yeah. That would have been quite a job."

Chao and his wife were watching their son dance. "He's so happy," Ling's mother said. It was a bittersweet feeling. She had hoped that her son would want to come home, but he seemed to belong in the temple.

"We'll have to visit him."

"Oh we will!"

Iroh was watching the couples dance. He had never found a love after his wife. Sure, he had enjoyed the comfort of a woman since then, but it was never the same. How could he replace the woman who gave him Lu Ten? How could he have lost Lu Ten?

He didn't see himself ever fitting into a new family, not as a patriarch anyway. His time had passed long ago.

He looked over. Qiu was dancing with that girl. He still found it odd that women dated each other. He didn't know any men who dated each other, but then again, he grew up in a different time. Azulon would have killed him for even suggesting it.

Uma asked Qiu what was in her pocket.

Qiu showed her the pocket watch. "It was a gift."

"Oh it's gorgeous."

From CPI to PL

Iroh noticed the golden gleam. She has a pocket watch? It was usually something that men carried. Lu Ten had a pocket watch. Iroh had never found it after his son died. None of his comrades knew what had happened to it. He was about to ask her where she had gotten it when Aang approached him.

"Iroh, this is Ling. He's the new airbender in my temple."

"Pleasure to meet you Ling."

It would have to wait for another day.

* * *

After a night of drinking and dancing, the party slowed down to a halt. Unlike the last two major Fire Nation events, there was no debacle.

That relieved Katara as she and Azula went to bed.

"Let's have some victory sex," Azula declared.

"What was our victory?"

"Escaping a formal event unscathed!"

"I can cheer for that!"

"Naked?"

"Yes you ho!"

"Let's go!"

Uma came back to Qiu's room but they didn't have sex.

"I don't want our first time to be rushed," she said. She had to leave first thing in the morning.

"Oh you're such a gentleman." Uma kissed her. "Will you come with Azula when she visits the tribe next month?"

"I'll try," Qiu said. She wasn't sure how long she could get away with that, but she did want to see Umi again.

"Maybe I'll have to visit you sometime."

"Maybe," Qiu said before they kissed goodnight.

When Zuko came back to the palace, he learned that 12 nobles had been forcibly evicted while he was gone.

They came to the palace demanding an explanation, and he didn't have them.

"Who authorized this?"

"I did," Azula told him.

"WHAT?"

"These are the scoundrels who were going to vote for Mai's father so he could be Fire Lord after he killed us."

"What?"

"Fire Lords are selected by nobility vote when there is no royal family. That's how Sozin got to be Fire Lord. Mai's father, even with his friends, did not have enough clout to ensure a victory when it came time to vote. They needed these votes and they paid for them with promises of future political appointments.

They may not have planned your execution, but they knew it was coming and they said nothing to make money off it."

"Is this true?"

Of course the nobles denied it but the evidence against them was stacked a km high.

"They thought they could get away with it, that I would miss them, but I was just waiting for them to have their guard down. Everyone knew we'd be at the end of the war party. They didn't suspect to be evicted that night, so they were at home unguarded."

"Excuse me for a moment."

He led his sister away. "When were you going to tell me that accomplices were still out there?"

"Didn't you know that? How did you think Mai's father was going to become Fire Lord without some other nobles challenging him?"

"I assumed he didn't plan it that well or they thought they could coerce the others into going along."

"No. They had years to stew on how to kill you. They never would have moved without more partners."

"So what do we do with them?"

"Cast them out. Take their stuff, strip them of their nobility and see if they can fend for themselves as ordinary people. Appoint more loyal people in their place and our alliance will grow even more."

"You don't think we can jail them?"

"We could, but do you want 12 more trials when they were really opportunists. These aren't the kind of people who could or would plan an assassination. These are the kind of people who stay quiet and hope they can make money. Want to hit them where it hurts, take all their money."

* * *

With a wave of a pen, they were reduced to mere peasantry. Their homes were gone and so was their family's wealth. All of their allies disappeared on them. Those with wives found themselves receiving divorce papers very quickly. In a way, this was worse than jail. At least the jailed nobles could hide their faces from the public. Everyone knew these men as traitors, and the public was not very kind to them.

Again, Zuko was annoyed with his sister for keeping secrets, but it worked out just fine. The Crown sent a strong message that traitors would not be able to escape their crimes. Those who had been loyal to Zuko were repaid with titles. Mai had one question outstanding.

"Who is this Quyen guy and why does he get a title?"

"That's Qiu's father. Apparently, Qiu's a fourth generation veteran. Azula thought her family should be recognized for sticking with us for 100 years."

"Did she mention that on her resume?" Mai was surprised she didn't know that.

"No. She wanted to be appointed on her own merits and not patronage."

"How unusual?"

"I know right."

Azula visited Quyen personally to convey his title to him. He and his daughter would be able to move into a new home, a nice home in Capital City.

"I never thought I'd have the Crown Princess visiting little old me," he said with a tear in his eye.

"I wanted to thank you and your family, for all that you've done for us."

"Message received."


	23. Chapter 23

**September 105AG**

Katara was already at the tribe. She wanted to stay longer than they had last year, but Azula had the stupid trials, so Katara left first, so she could spend more time with her family.

She enjoyed her time helping Gran Gran around the house and steering the ships in and out of the dock with Pakku.

Her father was leading the whale hunt, so she didn't see him as much during the day, but they'd talk at dinner every night.

The tribe felt like home in a way the palace didn't, but she spent 14 straight years living here and only a year at the palace. It would take more time before it truly felt like home to her.

The only thing missing was well, Azula. It was two years ago that Azula moved to Republic City. It wasn't until recently that Katara learned that Azula took the position because she was there. She left the comfort of her palace and the luxury of her servants to get closer to her. She thought fate had brought them together, but Azula chose her, before Katara even knew she was a possibility.

She should have seen it, the way Azula kept her nightmares at bay in June and the way she'd do whatever Katara wanted without hesitation. Sometimes, it felt surreal that a princess chose her, married her and now she was a princess too. She didn't quite believe it all until she had to wear a crown at Zuko's wedding. It made her head hurt it was so heavy.

Azula had crown made of white gold and sapphires instead of the traditional yellow gold and rubies, so Katara would still feel connected to her tribe when she wore it. It was those little things that made all the difference.

The princess was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Uma calling her. It wasn't until she got a snowball to the back of the head that she said, "what gives?"

"I was calling your name for like 5 minutes."

"Really?"

"You were out of it. Too busy daydreaming about your wife."

"Yeah," Katara admitted.

"I miss Qiu. She's so sweet."

"You gobbled her up right away."

"She's cute. She's more bashful than Azula, but I like that. I think I'll get to be in charge in the bedroom."

"I'm glad you to got on so well."

"You just wanted to distract me from Azula."

"I can't say I didn't get any ancillary benefits."

"Ancillary my ass, but if Qiu is a consolation prize then I am a lucky bitch!"

"She's a lady now."

"What?" _Was she a dude before?_

"Zuko made her father a noble, so she's a lady."

"Ah! It makes no difference to me, as long as she keeps working out, so she keeps that tight butt!"

Katara laughed out loud.

"Like you haven't noticed Azula's junk in the trunk."

"That junk is mine."

"OH! I see how it is."

Katara did have to admit that Uma seemed less of a threat with Qiu around. She hardly seemed like the type who would put up with a girl with wandering hands.

* * *

When Uma got home, however, her father seemed to think her hands should go elsewhere.

"We have a guest for dinner." It was Hahn from the Northern Water Tribe.

"Did you come here as apart of Arnook's diplomatic team?"

"Oh no, I came for my own reasons."

"He is looking for a wife."

"Oh there are plenty of women around here. I can give you recommendations."

Hahn gasped. He wasn't expecting that kind of response.

"He meant that's he's looking at you."

"What? Dad! How many times do I have to tell you? I AM GAY!"

"What?" Hahn yelped.

"I like P-U-S-S"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!"

"But I told you this like three years ago. When will you get it?"

"It's just a phase. It's not like you can marry a woman."

"What? Katara married Princess Azula last year."

"But she's a Princess now. That's clearly worth more than the shame of being a lesbian."

"What's so shameful about it?"

"First of all, two girls can't have sex, much less make a …"

"What? All that shows is how little you know about sex because there are plenty of things two girls can do: cunnilingus, analingus," she started naming off sex terms and Hahn was mortified. "And I would know because I've done LOTS OF…"

"THAT'S IT! I will not allow you to shame me anymore. You will either settle down and marry a man or get out!"

"FINE!" Uma packed her bag and left the tribe.

Not knowing where to go, she went to Katara's house.

"What's wrong?" She was crying by the time she got there.

"Dad threw me out because I won't marry Hahn!"

"EW! Come in!"

She didn't have a spare couch or anything, so the other half of her bed would do. This would only work temporarily. Azula will be here in a few days.

"I knew he wasn't the most receptive, but I never thought he'd throw me out."

Katara hugged her as she cried.

* * *

Qiu was excited to go to the Southern Water Tribe.

"Someone wants to see her girlfriend," Azula teased.

"Like you aren't itching to get to your wife."

"Oh I am. I don't plan on leaving the bed for at least 24 hours after I get there."

"EW!" Zuko told her as she walked by.

"There's this thing called sex; you should try it sometime."

Qiu chuckled. "Uma lives with her dad. I'm not sure how awkward that's going to be."

Azula cringed. "They don't really have soundproof walls, so you might need to be creative, but I'm sure she's mastered the art of hiding hookups from her father."

"Not everyone can have palace-thick walls."

"It's a shame. Good thing Katara lives alone."

They ordered the trials based on whom the defendant had fought. The people Azula fought went first, so she could testify and get out of there. She wouldn't be needed again until they dealt with the big fish at the end. This would give her plenty of time with Katara at the tribe. She decided to surprise her wife with an extra month in the cold.

The trials, however, did not go according to plan. Two of the defendants took plea deals at the beginning. They waited until the last minute because they had been arguing with the prosecutor over the terms.

With two of the five defendants out of the picture, the trial went faster than anticipated. There were fewer objections from the defense and two people who no longer had to be discussed.

Instead of finishing on Friday, like she had planned, Azula was free Wednesday at noon "If we take off soon, we can surprise our girls tonight."

Qiu liked that idea. They had already packed since they thought they would be leaving Friday from the courthouse. Again, Kip offered to bring stuff. They had three people's stuff to bring instead of two.

_Why do you make me fly with him?_

_I know you like him._

_I do not._

Azula's dragons could see when her emotions were peaked, like when Azula and Katara made love on the beach at Ember Island. The reverse was also true. _I saw how happy you were when he brought you that komodo rhino._

_I was hungry!_

_For his dick!_

_Hush!_

Azula offered the male dragon words of encouragement before they left.

* * *

Iroh saw Qiu with that watch again, remembering he wanted to ask her about it. When he got to the palace, however, Mai said, "they left early since the trials wrapped up early."

"When will they be back?"

"Um, I think Qiu has to be back by the end of the month, but Azula won't be back for three months I think. She knew Katara got homesick, so she wanted to spend a good amount of time there."

Iroh frowned.

"Is something wrong?"

"Have you noticed Qiu's pocket watch?"

"Not particularly, why?"

"It looks like the one I gave Lu Ten. I could never find it."

"Maybe she got it from the same store. I'm sure the seller made more than one."

"He probably did," although it wasn't common, and it would have been expensive for her to buy one.

Mai didn't know anything about the watch and didn't get involved.

Iroh wondered if it was his son's watch, how did she end up with it?

"You weren't kidding when you said this place was cold," Qiu muttered as she got off Xiao Long.

She had on boots, two pairs of socks, long underwear and a coat, but it was still cold.

"I know. I heatbend just to feel my toes."

Since it was late, Azula suggest Qiu come back to Katara's for the night as to not wake up Uma.

When they got there, however, Azula was surprised to see another woman in her bed.

"I meant to surprise her but the joke seems to be on me." Curious as to whom this infidel was in Azula's bed, she walked up to the woman and shook her awake.

"What the heck?"

"That would be my question seeing as you're the one in my wife's bed."

"Azula? I thought you weren't coming until Friday."

The firebender was not amused.

"It's not what it looks like."

"I would hope so!"

"QIU!"

"Why are you making noise?" Katara complained.

"Because our girls are here, and this looks rather shady."

Katara opened her eyes. "AZULA!" She jumped out of bed and hugged her wife.

Azula responded in kind before she remembered, "Wait a minute. Why are you in bed with another woman?"

"Her father threw her out."

"WHAT?"

"Shh! Indoor voice," Katara reminded her. "She didn't have anywhere to sleep, so I said she could sleep here until you got here."

Azula understood. "I came early since the trial got out early."

They couldn't fit four people in the bed, so they made a makeshift one out of extra pillows and blankets Azula had brought. To try and insolate them from the ice, Azula put thick mats under it all. "I can warm up this place with a fire."

She and Qiu built it, and Uma and Qiu slept near it that night.

"You aren't too cold are you?" Katara questioned. It didn't look too comfortable even though Qiu said she was fine. She had brought a sleeping bag just in case, so that was apart of this bed thing.

"I'll keep her warm," Uma said with a carnal smile.

"Hey, keep it somewhat classy in here." Azula climbed into bed with her wife. "I missed this."

"I missed you."

They kissed before falling asleep.

* * *

Katara woke up to help her Gran Gran. Azula noted her absence, "but I want to snuggle with you."

"If you come with me, I'll be done with my chores faster."

Azula growled as she got up. "I thought I was on vacation."

"Nope!"

Uma woke up Qiu.

"What's going on?"

"It's morning."

"But I wake up with the sun."

"The sun comes late here."

"Oh!" Qiu stumbled out of bed.

"We should find a bed."

"Where do we get one?" She didn't see any stores.

"We should ask the neighbors if they have any spare beds."

"Why don't we just take yours out of your father's house?"

Why didn't I think of that? "Better idea."

They went to her father's house and of course he was home. Uma let out his sled dogs, and they ran away.

"Damn dogs!" He ran after them.

They went into the house, grabbing her bed and carrying it out. They made it to Katara's house and put it where the bedding had been.

"We should make you a new house."

"Maybe Katara can help." She is a master waterbender.

In Kanna's old age, she was starting to suffer from arthritis. It was nice to have Azula to help with the housework when Katara went to help Pakku with the ships.

Azula noticed how gingerly the woman held her wrist and asked if there was something she could do to help.

"Can you reverse old age?" the woman asked with a laugh.

"No, but I do know something about sore joints." She had overtrained a lot as a child and found that her heatbending could alleviate soreness. She took the woman's wrist and slowly warmed it.

The pain slowly started to ease from the woman's wrist as Azula switched to the other one.

"How did you do that?"

"I slowly raised the temperature of your joints. It should help with the soreness." Azula didn't actually know what fire healing was called, but it seemed to work best with soreness as opposed to breaks.

With Azula and Qiu, there were now seven people at the table and they only had six chairs. Uma sat on Qiu's lap, so she didn't have to stand.

"How are you all fitting in one house?" Kanna asked them.

"Cozily," Uma admitted. "I need to build a house."

"Can't Katara just waterbend one?"

"You have to build it yourself," Katara told her. "That's cheating."

"Why? Toph makes stone houses when she goes camping instead of just dealing with a tent like everyone else. If I could live in fire, I'd do the same thing."

"We have traditions," Katara told her.

"Then why do waterbenders help with the whale hunt? Shouldn't they have to row?"

Hakoda gasped at the thought.

"_Traditionally_, waterbenders help."

"But all traditions are made up at some point. Can't you make a new tradition to start waterbending ice palaces?"

Katara laughed. "You want to live in a ice palace?"

"We're princesses."

"So Qiu," Pakku started. "What do you do?"

"I'm a member of the royal guard. 2nd in command."

"How is that?"

"It's interesting. You never know what's going to happen there."

"Like the ambushes," Katara muttered.

"Or the dragons play fighting in the middle of the garden."

"I knew it. Xiao Long has been hiding her feelings for Kip."

"You think she likes him."

"I can see her memories, and her happiest ones are with him."

"AW!" Uma said. "How sweet!"

"Can she see your memories?" Katara questioned.

"Some of them like when I'm really happy."

"Oh for Tui's sakes," Katara retorted. "That's why she always gives me that look."

Azula laughed happily.

After dinner Uma helped with the dishes. Hakoda explained to Qiu how to make an igloo. Apparently, you can use waterbending to make the blocks but not for the construction.

Azula played Pakku in pai sho while their wives watched.

Pakku had experience on his side, but Azula had some new tiles to keep the game interesting.

"I've never seen a red lotus."

"I just got it." The princess traded for it playing with some nobles.

Uma was grateful that Katara's family was so nice to her, but she couldn't help but be jealous. Her family embraced her instead of putting her out. She had not one home but two as she could go to the Fire Nation as she willed. She was the world's best waterbender married to the world's best firebender having already stolen the heart of the avatar. The girl seemed fucking perfect.

Qiu didn't speak very much, mainly because she observed everyone else. She could tell that Uma was upset and asked her if she wanted to go for a walk.

"They'll be playing for a while." Pai sho games tended to be slow.

The two headed off into the cold. "Do you ever find yourself jealous of the princess?"

"Because she choses to work while I have to for survival?"

"Well there's that, but I meant more because her life is pretty much perfect. It must be hard to work with her so closely and not compare yourself to her."

"Her life is far from perfect," Qiu told her.

"Did she tell you that?"

"She didn't have to. Behind the glorious palace walls are dark secrets. She had a childhood marred by violence and was at one point abandoned by every person in her life. She still has anxiety attacks largely because of how she was raised."

"But she always seems so happy and in control."

"She's good at controlling her public image, great at it even, but it doesn't mean her scars aren't real. It's just hard to notice them underneath the glamor.

Sure my life could have been easier if I had her money or her bloodline, but I couldn't have gotten those things without all of the challenges that come with them. They say the grass is always greener on the other side, not that you have any grass."

"Haha."

"You know what I mean."

"I guess I do. Katara's been so nice to me, but seeing what she has and what I don't have, it pisses me off."

Qiu kissed her. "You have me."

* * *

Zuko and Mai had to deal with the trials in Azula's absence.

"Not having her here sucks."

"Because you get stuck with the full mantle of the crown."

"Yeah." Zuko couldn't just leave for three months at a time. "This job is exhausting."

"I know." Being Fire Lady was no walk in the park either. Mai thought her role would be the same, but now she got all these invitations and people expected more from her. "But we've come along way in five years."

"Yeah we have."

They went to court to get the verdicts.

The bailiff ordered them all to rise. They did as the judge came into the courtroom. When he sat down, everyone else did too.

The jury read the verdicts. All three men were found guilty of treason and conspiracy. The judge would sentence them. Usually defendants got harsher sentences after trial than they got if they pled guilty. Their remorse is a factor and it's hard to say you have remorse when you plead not guilty.

These men would likely serve life sentences with hard labor. It was time to get ready for the next round of trials.

Zuko and Mai went for a quick lunch in Capital City. The atmosphere was different after the wedding for multiple reasons. People greeted Mai more warmly than before. She was their Fire Lady now, the country's mother. There was also a certain hesitation when passersby were in their vicinity, as if they were afraid to be accused of attempted assassination of they got too close. Zuko noted the fear and didn't like it. He didn't want to scare ordinary people, but Azula's bold ouster of the traitors seemed to have done just that.

"Maybe we should put on a public festival."

"Okay, but why?"

"So people stop looking like they think it's a crime to look in our direction."

"Oh yeah. We could have a dumpling festival. Everyone likes dumplings."

* * *

Ling's family had come to see the air temples. They were excited about interacting with the public after the End of the War Party. His parents came to the Southern Air Temple to see him, while his cousins went to the Northern Air Temple to meet the refugees and his aunt and uncles went to the Eastern Air Temple to see Guru Pathik, its sole resident.

For the first time in over 100 years, sky bison were all over the air temples. Appa's girlfriend was pregnant, so she appreciated having the other females visiting for moral support. Appa didn't know what to do, so he tried to just be understanding of her temper tantrums.

"You're going to be a dad," Aang told him proudly. Appa didn't think their first go would be successful. He wasn't as much as an optimist as his master.

"This place seems like a nice place to settle down," Jie said of the Northern Air Temple. She and Teo had been going around in their gliders.

"Everyone here is really friendly," he told her as he showed her the temple.

The Mechanist could see the spark between Jie and his son. He only hoped that she would give him a fair chance. Lots of girls thought he was cute, but for obvious reasons, they wanted a man who could walk. His friends were all paired off now. It seemed time for Teo to get his turn at love.

"You should come visit our village," Jie told him as they got to the ground. "We set it up with the Air Nation traditions in mind. We use wind power and we live off the crops that we grow."

"That sounds really cool. My dad had to make a lot of renovations, so we all could live here. Aang was pretty upset when he saw how much had changed."

"Maybe we could bring some of our traditions here. I would like to get out more. I spent pretty much my whole life in hiding."

"I'm glad Aang found you all."

"Yeah, me too!"

* * *

Hei Won was ready to move out of her support house. Over the past year, she had learned how to take ownership of her own emotions and responsibility for her own actions. She couldn't make Aang or anyone else love her. She had to accept people's decisions as they came and collaborating with an evil spirit was not an excuse for what she did.

She wrote letters to everyone she had wronged, but she didn't mail them. She thought she would be reopening old wounds, and she needed to let them move on with their lives. She found out that Aang and Ty Lee were engaged. She wasn't surprised. He had taken to her so quickly. She only hoped that she could find someone who could love her despite of all she had done.

She enrolled in Ba Sing Se University and majored in history. She wanted to write her thesis paper on what she had learned of the Air Nation's ways of life and how one could incorporate them into the present. She found peace in meditation.

She was on her way back home from class when a strange man walked up to her. He said "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

Knowing the significance of the phrase, Hei Won ran away, quickly getting herself downtown, hoping she could lose the offender.

She took a longer route home to stay out of danger and when she got inside, she locked the door and made her way up to her room. She didn't know whom she could trust or who was in on what appeared to be a renewed attempt to brainwash people.

Unsure of who would believe her at this point, she tried her luck with Dr. Sing. He knew she wasn't crazy at this point. He released her.

* * *

Unsure of what all Ursa would need for her voyage, she packed everything. "Come on, we don't want to miss the boat!"

She was taking her family to visit her older daughter in the Southern Water Tribe. She had missed out on too much of Azula's life, and she decided a surprise visit was a good idea to start making things up to her.

Ikem (he gave up on being Noren) wasn't so sure. "She's married. Should we really intrude like this?"

"We'll be living on the ship. It's not like we're all trying to squeeze into her igloo!"

Ikem wasn't sure if that made it okay.

Kiyi was bundled up like a little snow bunny.

"I'm ready MOM!"

They got themselves and their stuff on board and the ship set sail for the South Pole. It would take them three days to get there by sea.

As they got closer to the pole, Ursa became more and more grateful for her heatbending. "How do people survive this?" she questioned as she kept herself and Kiyi warm.

"I imagine they are used to it," Ikem said, like we're used to the warmth.

"I can't believe Azula agreed to stay in this for three months." She never liked the cold. The few days it was chilly in the Fire Nation, she'd put on her heaviest coat, not caring if Zuko or anyone else made fun of her for it.

"The things you do for love." Like me agreeing to this bullshit!

Qiu managed to build most of Uma's igloo by herself.

The water tribe girl was pretty, but pretty much useless when it came to physical labor.

Katara scolded her. "How could you leave your girlfriend to build your home?"

"Didn't Sokka and the others build yours as a gift?"

"To surprise me when I got here. I didn't just sit on my butt and watch them build."

"Well, I'm sure Qiu could use your help."

Katara rolled her eyes.

"How do I do the top again?" It was most of a house, just without a roof.

Katara helped her do the top, and she might have cheated a little with her waterbending, but she was impressed by what all Qiu could do by herself, since she had never built an igloo or anything out of ice before.

"Now I'm tired!" Qiu lied down in the snow.

"What about getting my stuff in there?" Uma questioned.

Katara pelted with a snowball. "You lazy bum."

"What? Azula would have totally made her servants do this instead."

"I would have made my servants do what?" Azula just came back from fishing. While the men used spears, she just used a net. Hakoda called a cheater and she said, "this cheater's going to eat like a fat cat tonight."

"Build the igloo instead of doing it yourself."

"Nah, I would have just stayed in Sokka's house. He's hardly ever here."

"Where is that bum?" Katara complained.

"Probably hiding from your snowballs!"

Eventually, they got Uma's and Qiu's stuff in her new home.

"Finally, we can have sex," Azula said to her wife.

"You hornball."

"Like you weren't missing me!"

"I never said that."

They made sure to enjoy each other liberally.

Unfortunately, no one relayed the message to Ursa.

"I'm here to visit my daughter," she told Pakku when she and her family arrived at the tribe.

He pointed to Katara's house and they went straight away. When she knocked, she didn't hear an answer, so she went inside. "Azula, honey. We came to visit."

When they got inside the house, however, they found Azula devouring her wife on the kitchen table.

"Oh for Agni's sakes!"

"MOM!" Oh crap!

"What's Azula doing to Katara?" Kiyi asked innocently.

"Um, they're playing a game," Ikem took his daughter away.

Ursa went to go hide.

Katara was tomato-carrot red. "Did that just happen?"

Azula laughed. "Apparently, our families just love to watch us on the kitchen table."

"I'm sure that's the first image of the tribe she wanted."

"And this is why all homes should have front doors with locks, even if you do live in an igloo."

"We should go talk to them."

"You didn't want to finish first."

"I think I'm good."

"Rain check."

"Yeah."

Kanna saw Kiyi playing in the snow and invited Azula's family inside.

"She didn't tell me you were visiting."

"We came to surprise her," Ikem said dryly. Big mistake!

"Oh and who's this adorable little girl?"

"I'm Kiyi!"

"Hi Kiyi. You can call me Gran Gran."

Kanna met Ursa and Ikem and about 15 minutes later, Azula and Katara showed their faces.

"So, you decided to visit me."

"Your mother thought a surprise would be nice."

Ursa glared at him. "So, how has your stay been so far?"

"Well, when I got here, there was another woman in my bed but …" Ursa's jaw dropped.

"AZULA!"

"Katara had a benign explanation and all was good, so I guess this has been a trip of surprises."

"I knew I should have gone to work today," Katara mumbled.

They didn't have nearly enough seating for everyone at Kanna's house, so they all ate on the boat.

"We brought plenty of food," Ursa said as she served bangers and mash.

Azula normally would have scoffed at the peasant dish, but she couldn't remember the last time Ursa had made her something to eat.

"How long are you in town for?" Kanna asked.

"Two weeks."

"Maybe we should start putting socks on the window sill."

"Azula," Katara chastised.

"What? Do you want a repeat of today?"

"Tomorrow, I'm going to work, not getting distracted by your womanly charms."

"So you admit I'm charming."

"You're so arrogant!"

"It runs in the family," Ikem told her.

"HEY!" Ursa complained

"I meant her father's side of the family."

"Mom's a show off too!" Azula told him.

"I am not," Ursa claimed.

"Then why do you check yourself out in the mirror so much?" Kiyi questioned.

Ursa was speechless.

Azula was guffawing. "Did I tell you my little sister is the best?"

Katara sighed.

Uma laughed. "If only I hadn't been an only child." She could use a sibling.

"Do you have any siblings?" Kanna asked Qiu.

"I did. He died in the war."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that." Her words were genuine, although that might not have been the case before she met Azula. She hated the Fire Nation for so lo long; it was hard to associate them with anything other than death and destruction, despite Zuko and Iroh's effort to end the war. She would never forget how Hakoda broke down when Kya was murdered, but no nation escaped the pains of war. Everyone lost someone. It's why it was all so terrible.


	24. Chapter 24

Dr. Sing was disturbed when he received Hei Won's letter. Was Long Feng somehow brainwashing people again? If not him was someone else using his techniques. He reported the incident to the police and Toph was sent to investigate.

"You think someone's brainwashing people again?"

"One of my former patients wrote to me claiming that a man came up to her and said 'The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."

"If she's a former patient, how do you know she isn't just delusional?"

He expected this response "I made sure she was stable before I released her and this is not consistent with the type of delusions she had. She was obsessed with a young man who didn't return her affections. She wasn't paranoid about nonexistent threats."

* * *

Toph said she would look into it, but she didn't think very much was going on. She got to the prison where Long Feng was supposed to be only to hear that he was missing.

"What do you mean missing?"

"He was sentenced to solitary, so he had no interaction with anyone. This way he couldn't brainwash them. The guards would slide his food trays in through a slat and he would slide them back out when he finished the food. It wasn't until we went to get him so you could interrogate him that we found a woman in the sell.

We asked her who she was and how she got there, and she only said 'Everything in Ba Sing Se is peaceful and pleasant.' We can't get her to say anything else. She just says it repeatedly."

When Toph saw her, she knew it was a Joo Dee. "How long has it been since anyone has last seen him?"

"At least a month. The guards don't remember exactly."

"Well they all need to be interrogated. Someone let him out and put that woman in his place."

Toph suspected that either the Dai Li or the prison guards helped Long Feng escape, possibly both of them together. She immediately reported the escape to her superior who reported to the Council of Five who reported to the King.

"WHAT?" Kuei was outraged.

"Long Feng has escaped, and it appears he's been brainwashing people again."

Kuei had ordered his equipment destroyed after the war.

"How could this have happened?"

"Either he got new materials, or no one actually destroyed the old ones."

There was an invoice saying the work had been done, but it was unsigned. Toph had no way of verifying anything.

"We need to do door to door searches," Fong insisted.

"How?" Toph retorted. "We don't have the manpower, we don't have the legal authority (since the Earth Kingdom has a constitution and it is peace time), and we have no idea if he's actually in the city. He could be brainwashing people from anywhere."

"Then what do you suggest we do," he asked pompously.

"We interrogate the guards and the Dai Li until we figure out how he got away, and from there we have to figure out where he went."

* * *

Over the next four hours, they round up all of the Dai Li and the guards. They all insisted their innocence.

Toph questioned them one by one.

"We haven't heard from him since we threw him in jail," one agent swore. In exchange for amnesty, many of them testified against Long Feng at trial.

"Maybe you should look at who didn't testify," another agent suggested.

It was a good idea, but maybe he was just trying to throw suspicion off himself!

The guards were coming up clean except for one. He seemed to fidget nervously and when Toph asked him direct questions he would mumble or say he couldn't hear her.

"He's lying!"

The officers came to take him to jail.

"I'M NOT!" he cried out.

Toph gave him one chance to come clean, and he only said "I needed money for my family. Long Feng said I would get a lot of it if I got a key to his cell and gave it to this guy. I didn't know who he was, but we did the exchange at a bookstore three months ago.

The guard got taken to jail.

Long Feng had been out for about three months. Who knows how many people he could have brainwashed since then?

Kuei did not want to tell the other world leaders just yet. "Why cause a panic?" or reveal Kuei's incompetence once more.

"What if he gets to another territory?" How questioned.

"I'm confident that our police force can find him before then."

* * *

When Dr. Sing got a new Joo Dee, he knew that Long Feng was back to his old tricks again.

"Do you know who she was?" he asked Toph as she delivered the woman.

"We haven't been able to figure it out yet."

These cases were always the hardest. How do you heal someone's mind when you can't tell her who she used to be?

Former Joo Dees had an easier time in social situations and struggled one on one. He would have her do group therapy for the first two weeks and try to slowly transition her to more one on one treatment.

Joo Dees were emotionally stunted. Their ability to forge meaningful connections with other people was inhibited by their lack of individual identity.

Many of them required therapy pets even after their release because they were prone to temper tantrums or outbursts.

Dr. Sing would have to find a therapy pet for this patient soon; he couldn't imagine what kind of sick individual broke people's minds like this.

* * *

The war left lots of boys and girls orphaned. Five years after the war's end, many of these girls were now young women, and could be easily taken away to be Joo Dees without anyone being the wiser.

Of course, Lake Laogai no longer held the tools for brainwashing people. Long Feng's new base of operations was in a remote stretch of land half way between Ba Sing Se and Republic City. Girls would vanish from Ba Sing Se; they had no family to report them missing and after being trained by Long Feng would be sent to Republic City with their new identities.

They were the perfect employees, brainwashed into being obsessed with their jobs. They did not require a salary. They were housed in apartments, so they only knew other Joo Dees, and to them, this was all normal.

The former Grand Secretariat knew he could no longer be in the public sphere. He was too recognizable at this point. He had to settle for the stream of cash coming from Republic City to fund his operations. It wasn't hard to find recruiters to get the girls. They'll let almost anyone get a job at city hall where it is easy to access the census records and see which young girls live alone and without family anywhere nearby.

Long Feng had five years to think about what he would do when he got out of jail; how he would get his revenge on the one who stole everything from him, but the time was not now. If he moved too quickly, he would only find himself dead or in prison. He needed to bide his time and make sure that he was perfectly prepared. He underestimated Azula's abilities last time. He would not do that again.

He got two girls a week. It took two weeks for the initial phase and another four weeks for them to be completely. He already made a dozen (not including the girl who got left in his place- an ex-Dai Li agent took care of that) girls and he would be paid handsomely to make a dozen more.

He went to see how one of the Joo Dees took to her treatment. He slapped her across the face.

"I'm sorry master."

"You won't disappoint me again," not that she had done anything wrong.

"Never master."

"You will do exactly what I say."

"Always."

He handed her a knife. "Cut your arm. I want to see you bleed."

Without hesitation, she gashed her own arm, sending blood down it.

He grinned. She was perfect.

Now lets see what else I can make her do.

* * *

The tribe fascinated Ursa. The people did so much with so little. They hunted for their food, made their own shelters and clothing. They even made their own weapons and cooking implements. Most people in Hira'a couldn't make anything. They bought their goods from the few who could make. Here, everyone seemed to be a jack-of-all-trades.

Kiyi had fun going to school with the other children. The other children accepted her as one of them, even though she was Fire Nation. Things were different now that the war was over. Katara was a Princess to the Fire Nation. They knew this was why they got favorable trade deals. Surely, the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe didn't get the rates they got.

Azula justified the change in price by saying it was easier to get goods to the Southern Water Tribe than the Northern Water Tribe and even though they could get goods to Omashu easily, the final destination was usually Ba Sing Se, which was a harder to reach.

Zuko was a little skeptical, but he let it slide. When they reduced the prices, the tribe only bought more goods, which encouraged their nationals to find ways to make goods faster and at a lower cost, which benefited the country in the end.

Now it was recess. Kiyi was in her first snowball fight. It had been a game of snow tag but it digressed into a full-blown war, boys vs. girls.

Azula watched her from a distance. She wonders what it would have been like to have a childhood like this one, to run and play instead of training all day. She was lost in thought when one of the boys pelted her with a snowball.

"Oh it's on you little bugger!" Azula had joined the game and she was fast.

* * *

Ursa and Ikem came back from their tour of the tribe and saw Azula making snow angels with Kiyi.

"I think it would do the Fire Nation some good if we got snow," Ursa admitted.

Ikem kissed her. "There is something magical about it, even if it is cold and wet."

Suddenly, his daughter hit him in the chest with a snowball.

"You're it!" she ran away.

"GET BACK HERE!" Ikem started chasing her through the snow.

Ursa watched happily. Despite the rocky start, she was glad she came here.

* * *

Now that Qiu and Umi had their own quarters, they had nothing holding them back physically.

Umi had straddled her girlfriend, laying soft kisses on her face and jawline. She got Qiu out of her coat and was glad she was a firebender because her body stayed warm. She dragged her nails across Qiu's hard frame. She was so strong and had little visible body fat other than her breasts. Umi wondered if all Fire Nation women were blessed on top or if it was a female firebender's thing. The water tribe women tended to have more on their rear end.

Umi had expected to stay in control, but Qiu flipped her and took over. "I like to be on top," she said as she pried off Umi's clothes.

Hot lips hit cold skin, fiery fingertips roamed freely.

"Are you ready?" Qiu hissed into her ear.

"I can't wait much longer." She felt like she was on fire.

Qiu pulled the sheet over them and they descended into them, Moans and grunts filled the room as Qiu let Umi know who was in charge. When they were done, Umi clung to her tightly.

"It's your turn when I catch my breath."

"We don't need to rush. We have all the time in the world."

* * *

Azula and Katara were sparring. It was a playful fight, but they did not go easy on the other. Ice daggers met huge balls of fire as they tussled for control in the ring. Katara had the advantage of being surrounded by water and the sun was going down. Azula, however, had superior training and she (not so) secretly watched her wife waterbend on the full moon.

What would have normally been over in 15 minutes went on for well over an hour. Finally Kanna called them in for dinner and Azula scooped up Katara, declaring herself the winner.

"You didn't win anything."

"Then why are you in my clutches?"

Katara froze her feet to the ground.

"You're stuck her too."

"Call a truce or I won't unfreeze you."

"I could just drop you."

"You wouldn't."

Azula let go, just to re-catch her.

"You're horrid."

"You love me."

Pakku unfroze Azula's feet. "Get in the house, you two lovebirds!"

"I win," Azula got the last word as she ran with Katara inside.

* * *

Before they knew it, the two weeks was up. Ursa and her family returned home to Hira'a.

"Don't be a stranger," Ursa told her older daughter.

"I won't Mom."

They hugged goodbye before Ursa boarded the ship.

"BYE KATARA! BYE AZULA!

"BYE KIYI!" Both girls called out as the little girl waved.

Eventually, the fog came in, and no one could see them anymore.

A few days later, Qiu had to return to the Fire Nation to get back to work. "I also need to check in on my father."

"I'll miss you," Umi pouted.

"You should come visit me sometimes."

They kissed goodbye and Qiu left on Xiao Long. This time, she didn't fly with Kip.

_Where's your boyfriend?_

_Shut up!_

**October 105AG**

Toph still hadn't found Long Feng. Kuei insisted the matter stay internal, but it had already been a month with no progress. There was no proof that he was in the city anymore, so Toph had a letter sent to the Avatar.

Aang received it and came to Ba Sing Se at once. "When did he get out?"

"He got out in June. No one noticed until September, and Kuei wants to keep it under his crown to save face."

"Do you think he's brainwashing again?"

"No, we know he is. He had put a Joo Dee in his cell, so no one would notice his absence, and there was someone going around trying to recruit more."

They put out an APB based on the description Hei Won had given them, but it was too generic. She didn't say to look at the man. She ran away.

Aang was baffled. "Can you talk me through this starting from the beginning?"

Toph explained how she had gotten the case and what happened when she went to find Long Feng. "The guard who paid him denied knowing where he was going or who was involved. He just said he got coins."

"Long Feng must have had outside help to get a new Joo Dee, which means he must have been communicating while in prison somehow. Did you search his cell?"

Toph hadn't. They went to the prison and Toph felt one of the bricks out of place. Aang removed it, and they found a radio.

"Somehow, he smuggled this in here and must have used it to talk to whomever broke him out."

"Where would he get a radio?"

"Republic City?"

"SHIT!" He was working with someone in United Republic. "He probably did leave the country."

The radios only worked for a short distance, so whoever broke him out, must have been based in Ba Sing Se. "The accomplice could have just gone to the city to buy the radio," Aang pointed out. They didn't know, but they did know it was time to get Sokka.

* * *

"LONG FENG BROKE OUT!" He yelled when they found him the next day.

"He had help and had another person take his place, so he's been missing for four months and we've only been looking for him for one," Toph told him.

Aang showed him the radio. "This was in his cell, so we think his accomplice was either living here or came here to buy the radio."

They went to the store to see how many had been sold.

"I sold like 40 from March (when they came out) to June."

Most of them had been single sales, in coins. About 15 of them went to the city council, but they were all accounted for.

"Someone bought two in May," Aang pointed out.

"Let me look up the sales list for that day."

The owner came back to say. "The person who bought the two radios also bought rope, gripping gloves and a tactical suit."

"I bet he scaled the wall to get you know who out of jail," Toph told them.

"So it wasn't an earthbender," Sokka told them.

"At least not a good one," Toph told him.

They checked with immigration to see if any of the men who immigrated into the country had either no or suspicious paperwork. There were 60 males who had immigrated since then, 40 reportedly coming from the Earth Kingdom, 23 from Ba Sing Se, but most of them had either a wife or children and as far as they knew, Long Feng didn't have either.

"He could have brought a Joo Dee along to pose as a wife or a daughter," Sokka mentioned.

They split up and spent two days visiting each man, but none of them were Long Feng.

"Well this sucks!" Toph told them

Sokka frowned. "Maybe he's not in any city. Lake Laogai was out of the way. Maybe his new base of operations is in the forest or something."

"We'll never find him if that's the case. There's a lot of forest."

"Maybe some sky bison could help?" Sokka asked Aang.

Aang would have to see if Chao would let them rent some of his sky bison for aerial searches.

* * *

Chao was willing to let them borrow some sky bison free of charge, but they would need people to fly with them and it would be hard to put the police on sky bison without revealing to Kuei that Toph told people from outside of the Earth Kingdom.

"Maybe Jie could join us?" Aang suggested. Ling was taking care of Appa's girlfriend in their absence and helping to manage the temple.

They went to get her and she agreed. To their surprise, she said, "can we get Teo too?"

It was only three hours to the Northern Air Temple from Jie's house, so they were able to invite him along the same day.

"You want me to join your search party?"

"You're good in the sky, and it will be fun," Jie told him.

Teo hadn't been on a real adventure since the war ended. He wasn't exactly the first person people thought of when they wanted to fight crime. "Let me tell my dad and pack my stuff!"

The Mechanist was glad to see his son getting out more, and that Jie was going with them. Maybe sparks could keep flying.

* * *

Since it was getting late, they decided to depart the next day. "Let's make a game plan," Sokka said. He took out a map and marked where he thought Long Feng might be. "It makes more sense for him to hide in the forest than the desert. It's harder to see him and there would be a buffer zone between his base camp and Ba Sing Se.

They decided to fan out from the Northern Air Temple tomorrow, covering the region from Ba Sing Se to the water near Gaipan.

"If we don't find him there, we should try the region by the Western Air Temple next and from there around Republic City and the smaller villages. If we still can't find him, then we have to consider the possibility that he is hiding somewhere in the Fire Nation.

"Which means we have to tell Zuko" Teo said.

"Shouldn't we have told him already?" Aang wondered.

"Why?" Sokka asked before he thought. "AZULA! He's totally going to target her the first chance he gets." She ruined his life.

"Let's send a letter to him before we leave tomorrow."

Zuko got the letter three days after Aang had sent it. "LONG FENG ESCAPED!"

He wasn't sure what was worse, that the guy who had the most reason to kill his sister was out, that he had been out for four months, or that Kuei still hadn't told anyone because he wanted to save face.

"Don't panic," Mai told him.

"But he's …"

"Totally twisted, brainwashes people, and has a vendetta against your sister, we know, but he's unlikely to go to the Southern Water Tribe to seek revenge. She's safe until she gets back and we'll adjust the security team here as necessary."

"I guess you're right."

"Calm down, and we still have three rounds of trials to get through."

"Oh crud!"

The Judge decided to hold off on sentencing until all of the trials were done. He wanted to be consistent across the board. This created a lot of uncertainty and some suspects were pleading guilty in the face of the unknown. This was good in that it saved the country money, but it did not allow for as much discovery, which made it harder to build the cases against the big five.

Their trials were last for a reason. It should be obvious that they were the guys by the time this was all said and done.

Mai's mother still wouldn't talk to her or let her see her brother. The servants were less loyal to Mai's father and would bring him to visit her, pretending he was at a doctor's appointment.

She hoped that Tom Tom would understand that their father was wrong and that Zuko was not the monster their mother was telling him that he was. She told him not to argue with mother, but to remember that Dad got sent to jail because he did a very bad thing. Once he was in school, he would of course learn more from the other students. She hoped, however, that they did not target him personally for their father's malfeasance.

* * *

Sokka enjoyed flying on his own. When he was with the group, he was the nonbender, the planner because they all felt the need to do things for him and protect him while fighting. His sister did it. Toph did it. Even Suki's jumped in front of him once or twice.

Right now, however, he was flying solo and he was confident that he could take care of himself. Unfortunately, the storm headed his way decided to make this task more difficult. His sky bison instinctively turned away looking for cover. They ended up hiding in a cave and waiting it out.

The warrior was hungry and had no idea how long he would be in here.

"Why did I eat all my jerky earlier?"

Because he thought he would have time to go to Ba Sing Se and buy some more. CURSES!

The storm had yet to reach Toph and Aang. They were flying on Appa and looking around for any hideouts or bunkers. Every now and then, they would land and Toph would scan the ground with her feet.

"Nothing yet," she said as they got back on board. She wished they'd find something. She hated being defenseless as she was in the air.

Aang suggested a lunch break.

"Good, I need to be on the ground."

He had packed some fruit and bread. Toph was hoping for something more filling, but this is what happens when you fly with a vegetarian. Sokka would have had jerky. No, Snoozles would have eaten it all by now and is probably complaining that he's hungry.

Jie had her glider with her. She would periodically jump off her sky bison and glide closer to the ground, looking for signs of human activity. So far, all she had seen was two lemur monkeys rutting and some badger moles.

Teo wasn't having much luck either. He saw all kinds of animals, but no structures to indicate any people. He hoped that one of the others was having more luck as he started to head south.

* * *

Long Feng had finished his last project. His Joo Dees were perfect and a man came to collect them.

He, however, only brought half payment.

"Where's the rest of my money?"

"You'll get it once we've had the chance to test them."

"You can test them here."

"Boss wants to know that they'll hold up without you, that this isn't temporary or that they aren't trained to just obey you."

"He has the others. Surely they work."

The man started to leave. When Long Feng tried to stop him, he felt a jolt to his neck.

"Don't think you call the shots," he said as Long Feng spasmed on the ground. He had never been hit with a stun gun before. He felt like hell.

"You'll get your money, if your work is up to par."

The girls were gone.

* * *

When he came to, he realized he could only wait here for instructions. He wouldn't know if they were bringing the money to him or if he was expected to go to Republic City.

He hated this. How did he not see this coming? Each time Long Feng thought he was ahead of the game, someone always came to change the plans.

The storm found Toph and Aang. The avatar decided to go towards Ba Sign Se, stopping at the river that divided the territory where the Northern Air Temple sat and the Capital of the Earth Kingdom.

"We should get some more food," Aang said. "By the time we're done doing that, the storm should have cleared away from us."

Toph liked the sound of that. They went into the city. This time, Toph filled her backpack with food.

"Eating for two?" Aang teased.

"Not everyone can live off fruit and bread."

"I also have lychee nuts."

"EW!"

They got to the market and while Aang was loading up on vegetarian goodies, Toph filled a bag of meaty goodness.

Once they were done with their shopping, they decided to head out to fly off when Aang saw another sky bison nearby.

"Is that Sokka?"

"Yes."

Aang was about to concur when he realized, "HEY!"

"How would I know?"

"My bad."

Aang flew up to the other sky bison, and Sokka was on board.

"I got caught in the storm," Sokka told them.

"We stopped because of it too."

They decided to fly together and search near the bay.

* * *

Jie and Teo also ran into each other. The storm derailed Jie's flight plan, and she headed west to get away from it, ending up where Teo was searching.

They flew together, but there was no sign of Long Feng in Teo's region.

"Maybe the others found something," Teo suggested.

"They might have been avoiding the storm too."

They both headed west and all four of them ended up converging on the same area.

"This is the only spot left to search."

They hovered in the air.

* * *

Eventually, Sokka yelled, "over here!"

He pointed to a cottage, which looked like it had been recently built.

Toph got to the ground and searched with her feet. "There are tunnels that go underground here."

She earthbended them inside and they started to search.

Sokka heard something. Before he could find out what it was, he found himself getting slammed to a wall. "LONG FENG!" he screamed.

Toph and Aang earthbended to him right away. Jie grabbed onto Teo and airbended him to the action.

"You're not taking me to hide?" Most people would do that with the guy in the wheelchair.

"I'll be your legs," she said as he got him into the room.

"Of course, you came looking for me," Long Feng sneered. "You have a choice. You can either go away and pretend you never found me or lose your water tribe buddy boy."

"How about neither?" Jie created a windstorm with the wave of her hand, catching Long Feng in it and spinning him around. In his dizziness, he lost his hold on Sokka who slumped to the ground. Toph earthbended him out of there and Aang told Jie to drop Long Feng. The man was unconscious.

When he woke up, he was cuffed and his legs were chained.

"Don't take me back to jail?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Aang questioned.

"Don't you want the girls back?"

"Where are they?" Sokka demanded to know

"I'll tell you, after you uncuff me."

"Are you crazy? He'll just try to kill us again."

"It's not like you have much of a choice!"

"I could just kick your ass until you tell us," Jie threatened.

"Aang won't let you!"

"Would you like another twister?" Jie made one and started to bring it towards him.

"We can't torture him," Aang told her.

"Why not? You told me he was a murderer and a kidnapper and he broke out of jail presumably to keep murdering and kidnapping. Why shouldn't we get some blood on our hands if we can save innocent people?"

"If we torture him, we'll become like him. I'm sure he has some excuse that he thinks justifies his actions."

"I just wanted money," Long Feng admitted.

"That wasn't very smart of you to say," Toph told him.

He tried again. "The people who hired me still owe me money. If you let me go, I can collect it, and you can catch them. They have the girls."

"How do we know anyone hired you?" Aang questioned.

"I have money in my closet. As you can tell, I was broke when I got out of jail. They just paid me two days ago."

"These are Yuan," Sokka told them.

"So the guys who hired you came from Republic City." Aang realized.

"And the girls are probably in Republic City."

"I want a deal!"


	25. Chapter 25

Unsure if this was the best plan, Aang decided not to bring him to jail right away. They would take shifts watching him and if the man came back with the rest of the money, they would take them both into custody together.

Toph was tired. She wanted to go home, but she wanted to rescue these girls more.

It was about three days before the man came back.

They had to remove Long Feng's restraints and hide.

"Did the girls perform as planned?" Long Feng asked him.

"Oh yes. They're perfect." The man handed over the money. Long Feng greedily started counting it, not expecting any trouble.

The man quickly slit his throat, killing him in front of a horrified Aang. They should have taken him to jail. He would still be alive.

The man took back the money and proceeded to look for the other bag of coins when an object hit him on the back of the head. Sokka caught his boomerang and the man hit the ground. When he woke up, he was chained and being flown to Ba Sing Se for questioning.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I think you should be answering that," Aang told him.

"I'm just a villager."

"We saw you murder Long Feng," Toph told him.

"You can't see!"

"They saw you kill Long Feng."

"You're going away for a very long time," Jie told him.

"I'm not going to talk unless you release me," he told them.

"That's never going to happen," Toph told him. "We have you on murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Long Feng wanted the same thing and he didn't get released."

"What do you think your boss is going to do when he finds out we have you? You killed Long Feng to clean house," Sokka told him. "Do you really think you're safe?"

"You can't let him kill me."

"We don't know who he is? He could bribe a guard or sneak in at night. How can we stop someone when we don't know who he is or how he might strike."

"You have to protect me."

"Do we?" Toph questioned. "Maybe the person who kills you will be more cooperative."

"It's your choice," Sokka told him, "talk and you get protective custody. Stay quiet, and you get the general population."

Aang didn't like this at all, but his plan got their best witness killed so he decided to take a step back on the interrogation.

The man had to make a choice. Would he talk to save himself or take a chance with no protection?

* * *

In Republic City, a teenage girl was taken to her client. She would do whatever he wanted: rough sex, bondage, he could even just start punching her in the face and she wouldn't complain. She was the perfect prostitute. She would smile like a puppy that didn't know his master was about to strangle him. She was one of two dozen. If she was too beat up to work, she got subbed out for another girl who looked just like her.

Men and some women would pay top dollar for a girl they could use and abuse without fear of retribution. The only thing was if she died or was permanently marred, they had to pay compensation.

This girl was only 17. Her client was 50. His daughter was 20. She looked kind of like her.

"I think I'll call you Meng," he said as he unbuttoned his trousers.

She just sat there and smiled.

Once he was done with her, he paid his fee and asked, "do you do longer rentals?"

"Like for the whole day?"

"The day, the week, purchase."

They hadn't thought about just selling the girls as slaves. "It depends. Name your price."

Years ago, when Yakone came up with the idea of turning Joo Dees into sex slaves, he thought he would have one of his own, a woman he could use and abuse when he got in the mood.

Now, his business partners were enjoying the money from the ideas that came from his twisted mind while he was trying to learn basic words.

A man who only knew how to take had everything taken from him. It was an ironic situation that he couldn't even fully appreciate because he didn't know who or what he used to be.

His former associates came to visit him sometimes, keeping up appearances and to make sure he was still too broken to become a problem for them.

"I meant to kill you," the man looking at Yakone from far away said in his mind. "I don't know if it's better or worse that you are here instead of dead."

* * *

Ty Lee just got Aang's letter.

They found Long Feng but before they could figure out who had hired him, he got murdered and now they're trying to get the murderer to talk, so they can rescue the girls they believe Long Feng brainwashed for the man who hired him.

"I'm not sure when I'll be able to visit you next. I miss you so much, but I need to find these girls. Who knows what's happening to them right now?"

I'll be home as soon as I can rescue them.

Love

Aang

It was a bittersweet letter. She loved Aang and always wanted him with her, but he needed to do this. If she were kidnapped and brainwashed, she would want him to come for her.

She was rereading the letter when Suki came in.

"Let me guess, Aang wrote to you."

"Yeah. He, Sokka, Toph, Teo and Jie are looking for these kidnappers."

"Without Aang's letters, I would have no idea what Sokka's doing!"

"Have you ever told Sokka you want him to write to you more?"

"Sort of!"

"You need to be direct. Don't take this the wrong way, but he's not as smart as he thinks he is."

Suki laughed loudly. "I know exactly what you mean. I should be more direct I know but …"

"You're afraid you'll come across as a nag."

"Yeah."

"Just tell him how much you miss him and how his letters make you smile. He wants to make you smile. That's not a chore."

"I know. I should write to him."

"You could write him a smutty letter. I bet that will get a response."

"No thanks!" She mistakenly wrote one of the letters Ty Lee wrote for Aang and she was traumatized. Who knew a monk could be such a freak?

"Don't knock it until you try it."

"Then I won't knock it," Suki retorted.

Ty Lee hit Suki with a pillow.

The two girls fought and when Suki wrestled on top of Ty Lee, she kissed the acrobat, surprising her.

Ty Lee broke the kiss, once she regained her senses. "Suki, I'm sorry, but we can't…"

"I know. You have Aang and I have Sokka and I love him, but I need more, and I don't see him enough and …"

"I already broke one friend's heart by messing around when I shouldn't have. I can't do it twice."

"You and Mai?" Who else could she mean?

"No."

"You and …" the princess?

"Yeah. It was years ago and I know she's over it, but I don't want a repeat and I think you should go to Sokka."

"What?"

"You miss him, a lot. Take some time off and go get your man. We'll be fine."

Suki thought it sounded so juvenile, so hung up on her boyfriend that she left her job to go get him.

Ty Lee thought it was romantic.

The other girls agreed. "Go get him!"

Suki relented and packed her bags. She was going to Ba Sing Se.

* * *

Toph was not expecting to find Suki at her front door. "Fan girl?"

"Is Sokka here?"

"Yeah. Snoozles, you're lady friend is here!"

"Suki!"

"I missed you so much," she ran into his arms. She had just seen him two months ago, but that was only for a couple of days.

He hugged her tightly. "I missed you too babe. Where are the other girls?"

"Running the island. They sent me to you."

"Were you lovesick?" Toph teased.

"Ty Lee got Aang's letter and you never write to me and …"

Sokka didn't realize she wanted him too. "My writing was never any good. Most people complain they can't read what I write anyway."

"Who cares if I can read it? I just want you to write to me."

He kissed her tenderly. "I promise, I will write more and not be such a flake."

"Don't lie," Toph scolded. "You'll always be a flake!"

"Maybe we should give them some alone time," Aang suggested.

"In my apartment? You better wash the sheets," Toph warned as she and Aang left them alone.

* * *

Jie took Teo to visit her home.

The terrain wasn't very wheelchair friendly so he got around on his glider.

She showed him where she kept her sky bison and how she made her brandy.

"I usually just give it away, but I might start selling it and raising money for charity."

"That's a great idea. I bet people in the temple would buy it." It would also give her a reason to visit him more.

They spent the afternoon flying around.

"Are you going home soon?" she asked him.

"I wasn't sure. They don't need me searching in the air anymore, but I want to see this through."

"Me too."

"Did you mean the case or us?"

"Both, but I was talking about us."

"Me too."

She leaned in and kissed him, the first time he got a kiss that wasn't just familial.

He tentatively kissed her back. "I've never done this before."

"Me neither."

"Really, but you're so pretty."

"I was in hiding my whole life. Who was I going to kiss, my cousins?"

"How did your family find spouses?"

"They'd sneak into town and have to woo someone to come back with them."

"Are you going to woo me?"

"Why wouldn't you woo me?"

"You were bred for it?"

"Fool!" she kissed him again.

They got back to Toph's house, and now there were six of them on the case.

Suki was determined to get this guy to talk. He had enough time to think about it.

"What is she going to do to him?" Aang questioned.

"Um, I don't know," Sokka admitted.

An hour later, he was singing. "It would take Long Feng six weeks to brainwash a girl fully. He would get 2 girls a week for 12 weeks straight, so he did 24 girls."

"And what were these girls brainwashed to do?" Suki questioned.

"To be perfectly complacent."

"What?"

"They're concubines, and they'll let their clients do whatever they want to them, for the right price."

"THEY'RE SEX SLAVES!"

"Basically. They don't get paid. They get room and board, but they're all kept together, so they can't run away. They only see the clients and the others, so they think it's normal."

It wasn't hard to find their records. There were two girls coming in every week for 12 weeks, each of them processed by the same clerk and had hired the same immigration attorney. They weren't expecting to be arrested in the middle of the night.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Sokka explained it to them in jail. "We know that these girls are being held as sex slaves and we know you helped get them into the country illegally, so the faster you talk, the better this goes for you."

The lawyer refused to speak, but the clerk got loud right away. "They said I wouldn't get caught, that all I had to do was approve any paperwork sent to me by the lawyer. Two girls came in each week for 12 weeks. I don't know why, but they all claimed to be in school, and they all claimed to have apartments in the same building. I don't know if they are actually there or not, but the records office will have the address. I got paid in coins. The lawyer handed them to me. I don't know who runs this. I just want my MOMMY!"

Toph rolled her eyes as they left him in the cell overnight. That morning, they got back to the records office and found out the apartments that the girls were supposed to be in.

Aang made water keys and they snuck in only to see that the apartments were empty.

"They must be at 'work,'" he said.

They were all the same, the same bed, clothes, cooling units for food. Their lives were uniform.

It wasn't too hard to find the brothel. They just needed to find a building with dark windows with mostly men going in and taking about an hour before going out. They waited an hour to make sure it was the right building.

"That must be it," Aang told them.

They dressed up Sokka and sent him in with some money.

"What can we do for you?"

He put down some money. "I want a girl who aims to please and is up for anything."

"That's all of them."

"Which ones the hottest."

He got sent to room number 5.

"Will you do whatever I want?"

"Yes master."

"Then hop out of this window and run to the girl outside with a green top."

She had never gotten such a command, but her brainwashing took over, and she fled.

Not wanting them to think anything was wrong, Sokka started moaning loudly.

"He's really enjoying himself," the cashier said amusedly.

Suki got the girl to safety. She told her to listen to Teo and they waited inside a café across the street.

Of course, he was the babysitter while the others went to fight, but given how there was a murder last time, it was probably for the best.

Jie ran into the brothel, quickly airbending the doors open with powerful blasts. When the men realized the jig was up, they scrambled to pull up their pants and run. They didn't do so well. Suki started chi blocking them. Toph started metalbending cuffs on them and Aang prevented the man at the front from going anywhere.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the avatar, and you're going to jail."

Once all of the suspects were secured, they evacuated all of the Joo Dees. It was easy to get them to cooperate as they were trained to be obedient to whoever commanded them. They only found 17 girls at the brothel. They learned four were at the hospital and 3 were unaccounted for.

Sokka reported to the council immediately. "These girls were kidnapped from Ba Sing Se and brainwashed before being smuggled in on fraudulent paperwork and being used as sex slaves."

The allegations were heinous.

Of course, the brothel owner denied the charges. He even denied being the owner, but the cashier snitched on him, as did the assassin. With the clerk there to testify and Dr. Sing coming to verify that these girls were brainwashed by Long Feng's methods, it was an open and shut case.

Yakone's associates were perturbed that their money making scheme ended so quickly. They had just gotten their first girls in July. They had only been operating for three months. How did the Avatar find them so quickly? They would have to take him into account more carefully in the future. Also, that blind girl was a pest!

The Avatar had seized the money that was in the brothel that day only for there to be an argument as to how to use it. The Council thought that the city should keep the money, but the Earth King insisted the money should go to them since it was his nationals who were victimized.

Aang suggested that the money go to the clinic where the victims would actually get treatment, which made both countries unhappy, but it was eventually what happened.

**November 105AG**

Azula was tired. The days were getting shorter and the nights were longer. Her inner fire was clearly subdued since her connection to Agni was waning. They had left in October last time, and she still had another month to go.

Katara, of course, was able to wake up at the same time every day. Agni's absence didn't have the same affect on her and she was able to poke Azula when it was time to wake up.

"Is this what it feels like for you when it's sunny?" Azula questioned.

"No, but when it's the new moon I feel sluggish and I don't like sunrise."

"No wonder you always sleep in when I train." Azula rolled out of bed. She got her clothes on and stumbled to Kanna's house.

"Are we making coats today?" she asked the matriarch.

"No, we got them finished yesterday." All of the women help make the coats for all of the families, so even though Kanna's family all had fitting coats, she helped make coats for those who needed new ones. Azula helped stitch them together.

Azula yawned. "What are we doing today?"

"Making tarps for the hall."

"Why does the hall need tarps?"

"It's our safety location in case of a storm. We put tarps on the windows to help block out the cold."

They were effectively making lined blankets for the windows. These were easier to put together than coats, but Azula still found it monotonous.

"Why did the tribes settle at the poles?" Azula asked her.

"Where would we have gone?"

"The islands between the Southern Air Temple and the Eastern Air Temple are practically empty. You could keep whaling and fishing and not have to worry about all of the snowstorms. It could at least be a winter location if people wanted to be at the tribe during the summer."

"You still hate the snow."

"It's growing on me, like a fungus."

"The islands would be warmer, but there are a lot of typhoons there which is why they are empty."

"Ah, so too much water just brings bad weather."

"Our cultures are reflective of our climates. The tribes are the most communal because our survival depends on it. When you move closer to the equator, you have more people because it's easier to survive the weather, but then you have more crime as people don't appreciate what it means to share."

"I feel like there is a wise lesson in there, but I'm too tired to understand it."

"I'm surprised your wife has survived this long here," Pakku told Katara.

"She does get sleepy."

"Maybe you could visit earlier next year."

"I wish we had, but the stupid trials took up her time."

"Maybe the spring will be better. She just looks so sleepy."

"Yeah," Katara thought it was sweet that Azula extended their stay from two months to three to make up for her secret keeping during the wedding, despite her aversion to the snow.

She decided she was going to reward her wife with hot chocolate and cuddles when she got home, although this might be more of a reward for Katara. Azula was the best cuddler. She warmed her body just right and she'd always let Katara be little spoon, which is the better position. Also, when cuddle time turned to nap time, Katara could just turn around and Azula's breasts made perfect pillows.

When she went home, she went to get out the ingredients when a boy came running into her house.

"My sister is in labor and she needs help!"

Katara came running with her medical kit. No one had told her of the pregnancy, which was unusual. She would have been checking on the woman if she had known.

She followed the little boy to his family home where his big sister was going into labor. She was only 14.

After learning the girl's name, Katara said "I'm going to check and see how far along you are."

She looked. The girl was already at 4cm. "You're almost half way there."

The girl looked terrified. Katara thought trying to save the world was less scary than doing this alone. Her parents were in the next room and the baby's father was nowhere in sight. Katara didn't ask about him. If he isn't here, there's a good reason for it.

When Azula came home, she was surprised to see an empty house and asked Pakku if he knew where Katara had gone.

"She said she was going home."

Azula searched the tribe until she learned of a girl giving birth. Of course, Katara was helping.

Azula went to see if there was anything she could do to help.

"You could get this FUCKING baby out of me!"

"Um, I don't know how to do that. Tara what do you need?"

"Hot towels, lots of them."

"I can do that." Azula grabbed towels from the girl's mother, got them wet and steam heated them.

She came back and Katara was trying to keep the girl clean.

The delivery was already 2 hours in when Katara got there, it was another hour before Azula had gotten there, and it was another five hours before she had the baby.

It was a beautiful baby boy. As far as Katara could tell, he was all water tribe.

"Do you want to hold him?" Katara asked.

The mother refused.

Her father came in to explain. "She didn't tell us she was pregnant. She kept wearing baggy clothes to hide her stomach, and she won't tell us who the father is or why he's not here."

Katara asked Azula to hold the baby for now and tried to see if the girl would talk to her. "If someone hurt you we can get you help."

"I wasn't RAPED!" she spat.

Katara didn't get anywhere with her.

"Are you sure she can raise this child?" Katara asked the girl's mother.

"I'm sure she can't, and we have our hands full with our son and her, although she should be an adult. I'm afraid she might harm him."

Katara's eyes got wide. "Maybe I should take him for the night. We can make a formula if he's hungry. It's for mother's who can't nurse."

"I think that's for the best," the woman's husband said.

Katara showed the boy his nephew before taking him away.

"Um we don't have a crib or anything babies need," Azula told her.

"I know, but he couldn't stay there. It wasn't safe."

Even Azula didn't think she'd hurt her own newborn. "Maybe we should try the neighbors."

They were able to get ahold of a crib and some blankets. "This tiger seal milk will have to do until we can get some formula."

"I can send for some on Kyoshi Island," Azula said. "They should be able to get it here quickly."

"He doesn't have a name," Katara realized. No one in the family thought to name him.

"For now, lets call him Xingyun."

"What does that mean?"

"Lucky."

"But is he?" Katara wondered.

"He could have died tonight, but instead he got you. I think that's lucky."

Katara kissed her. "You're such a softie."

"Lies!"

He woke up crying in the night.

"He's probably hungry," Azula said.

Katara got up to feed him. "And he needs to be cleaned up."

Azula got the diapers out and warmed some water to wash him.

"For a newborn, he sure poops a lot," Azula told her.

"That's what babies do!"

"That's why we have servants. I doubt either of my parents changed a diaper in the palace."

"Azula is doing peasant work."

"Don't remind me."

"What do you think you're doing when you help Gran Gran all day?"

"That's different. She's family."

Katara kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

"Definitely."

* * *

The morning came and they went begging for baby supplies. By then, everyone knew that the birth mother had rejected him and families gave what they had, but most of them didn't have any baby supplies anymore.

"We shouldn't get too much stuff here anyway, since we'll have to get him new stuff in the palace anyway," Azula told her.

"You want to keep him?" She wasn't sure if Azula was willing to do that.

"Unless you can find him a home here, what else are we going to do? No one in that house is ready to care for him." His grandparents told them as much.

"We'll make sure you are well taken care of."

To their surprise, Umi was excited to take the baby for the day. "I'm all alone with Qiu gone. My father still won't talk to me." She apologized for the sled dog stunt and he got them all back, but he was still furious at her refusal to find a man.

Katara wondered if she was too lazy to raise a baby, but apparently she did fine as long as it wasn't manual labor.

When Azula wrote to Ty Lee asking her to send baby supplies, the warrior came on Appa. Aang had been visiting her, so they just went to the store and brought the goods themselves instead of shipping it.

"How did you two get a baby?" Ty Lee questioned.

"Her mother rejected him," Azula said calmly.

"That's so sad, but I'm glad you two have him. He's so cute." He had blue eyes and messy brown hair.

Aang carried over the supplies. "We weren't sure exactly what you needed so we got formula, diapers, onesies, a baby coat, and you can't really use a stroller here so we got these overall like things that you can put the baby in and carry it that way."

"Thanks a bunch," Katara said to them.

They got the stuff unpacked and offered their saviors some hot chocolate for their efforts.

"Is he coming back to the palace with you?" Ty Lee asked.

"We're not sure yet, but we won't leave until we know he has a good home."

"Did you want to have kids?" she whispered.

"Not so soon, but he is growing on me."

Azula found it a little disturbing that she was the better mother in this context, but if she could make it through this (possible) trial run, then maybe she could handle being a full time parent with Katara.

Three weeks later, they needed to decide.

"If we're going to take him with us, we need to write home, so they can prepare for him."

"I know," Katara was torn. She wanted to keep him, but she also felt bad completely taking him from his family and his culture. He would grow up in luxury as a prince of the Fire Nation, but did she have the right to take his roots from him.

Unsure of what to do, she asked her Gran Gran for advice.

"So you have a beautiful boy, who you both adore, but you don't want to take him with you because you think he belongs here. Why?"

"This is his culture. These are his people. What if we bring him to the Fire Nation only for him to resent us for taking him away from his birthright?"

"You have no idea how he'll feel when he's older, but he needs a caring family now and he has that. I think stability matters more than location."

"Thanks Gran Gran."

Katara told her wife she wanted to bring Xingyun with them. She started drafting the letter and was about to send it when Umi came up to them.

"Please don't take him."

"What?"

"I love him." Umi had watched the boy almost every day. Azula and Katara did evenings and nights but she may have rivaled them when it came to how much time she put into caring for the boy.

"You're going to have to raise him alone," Katara told her. Her father wouldn't help and the tribe does help one another, but it would be her primary responsibility.

"I know."

"Have you talked to Qiu about this?" Azula asked. This would be a big change in their relationship.

"No," she admitted. "But I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."

"Then maybe you should come with us. You need to talk to Qiu anyway, and when we get back to the palace, I'm sure Zuko's going to want to send me to work. We'll need some extra hands." That wasn't exactly true. They could use servants, but why do that when she loved him so.

"Really?"

Azula sent a different letter to her brother, explaining that they had a baby that might be their son who would be in the palace until further notice, so they needed her office turned into a nursery.

* * *

Of course, Zuko was totally baffled when he got the letter. "HOW did she get a BABY?"

Mai had no idea, but she didn't think yelling about it would yield them any answers. "Let's have the servants prepare the room and then we'll learn about this baby."

For obvious reasons, they took a boat back instead of Xiao Long.

Umi kept constant watch on the boy. She was a couple years older than Azula. Maybe she was more ready to become a mother.

When they got to the dock, they took a palanquin to the Palace and the servants came to grab their stuff and help settle in Xingyun.

"Azula, Katara welcome home. Who's your friend?"

"This is Umi and she has been helping us care for Xingyun."

"And how did you get a baby?"

Katara explained how the mother had been hostile, the father had been MIA, and the grandparents basically said they couldn't deal with him. "They told me they thought she might hurt the baby, so I offered to take him, and they gave him to me."

"Does his father know he's a father?"

Azula shrugged. "She won't say who the father is, so we have no idea if he's unaware or fled, but if he's from the tribe, he should have known. Everyone at the tribe knew."

"But if he was a sailor or something, he might have only been here for a few days," Umi pointed out.

"Maybe she doesn't know who he is," Katara said.

Zuko didn't want to separate the boy from his father if the man was a suitable parent, but since he wasn't currently findable, there wasn't anything to do. "Well, hopefully, we can keep Xingyun comfortable until a permanent solution has been reached."

"Does that mean you'll change his diapers now?" Azula questioned.

He glared at her.

"You said we."


	26. Chapter 26

Qiu didn't report to work the next day.

She sent a message to her superior.

"Her father's dying," he reported to the Fire Lord. Even though he quit drinking years ago, the damage he did to his liver finally caught up with him.

"I understand. She can take all the time she needs."

He had only been a noble for four months. If irony was a bitch, then he was a dog bone. Qiu kept him home so he could die comfortably. She wasn't expecting any visitors. He lost contact with the men he served with and they didn't have any other family.

When the bell rang, she wasn't sure who it was. She got the door, and it was Umi.

"How did you?"

"I came as soon as I heard." Umi hugged her tightly.

"From the tribe?"

"Oh I was already here, but we can talk about that later. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Qiu tried to say, but she was trembling. It has been just her and her dad for so long.

Umi held her close. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere."

Azula had sent the royal doctor to check on him, but there was nothing that he could do.

"I'm sorry," the doctor told him. He wasn't used to telling patients they were going to die. Azulon's death had been unexpected.

"You didn't tell me to drink all that whiskey."

"I can give you tinctures to ease the pain."

Quyen accepted them. "They taste awful." He made a face as he drank them.

The doctor had fire juice to wash away the taste.

After the man fell asleep, Qiu asked Umi why she had come.

She explained Xingyun and how she came to be involved with him.

"You want to adopt a baby?" Qiu didn't expect that of her.

She nodded. "But it would be such a big step. I wanted to see you first, and then Azula told me, so I came straight here."

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

Xingyun was crying. Azula came to feed him. "Hey little guy." She held a bottle to his lips.

She wasn't sure what they were going to do. She was fine with keeping him if that's what Katara wanted, but Umi loved him too. He couldn't have four mothers that would just be insanity. At some point, one of the two women was going to get her heart broken, and Azula didn't want to have to decide. Somehow, she knew that she would have to anyway.

She burped him and then held him until he fell asleep. She wondered how his mother could have just let him go?

Katara took over when she came back from her conference. Before she had left for the tribe, she had agreed to speak at some university conference about waterbending.

Azula took a short nap. She was exhausted.

* * *

The next morning, Umi came back to the palace. "Can I bring him to meet Qiu?"

Azula agreed. "I was going to visit her father anyway."

The three women took baby Xingyun to Quyen's house.

Qiu was expecting Umi today. She wasn't expecting her boss and her boss's wife.

"How is he?"

"He's feeling a little better. The tinctures that the doctor left are helping with his pain."

Azula went to see him. "Admiral Quyen."

"No one's called me that in decades," he said with a coarse laugh.

"Princess Azula. I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well, I'll be damned. I never thought the crown princess would come to see little old me."

While they were talking, Umi introduced Qiu to Xingyun. "Isn't he precious?"

He was a beautiful baby. Qiu picked him up. "He's so small." She and Umi doted on the baby.

Katara went to check on Azula.

She and the dying man were laughing.

"I must thank you for all that you and your family sacrificed for mine over the years."

"I know she's your bodyguard, but watch out for Qiu. She's the last of us, or she will be soon."

"I will."

Umi and Qiu took Xingyun in so that Quyen could meet him.

Quyen only had this to say to his daughter, "be a better parent to him than I was to you. No matter how hard life gets, don't you dare turn to the bottle."

To the baby, he said, "You're in good hands. Qiu won't let anything happen to you."

That night, Quyen died.

Qiu had to make the funeral arrangements for him.

Azula and Katara had a choice to make.

Katara thought they should keep him. "Umi and Qiu are good people, but it will just be them. We have our family to support us, and our staff and it will be hard for them."

"I think that might be why they should keep him," Azula said. "We have our family. If we want to have children, we have options. Neither of them has a family anymore. A baby would change all of that for them. I know what it feels like to be all alone in the world. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

Xingyun had been left by his family. The same went for Umi and Qiu. This was a chance for all three of them to have a family again. Katara hated to admit it, but Azula was right. It would be selfish to keep him when they had so much already. She could only cry as Azula held her.

"I promise you. We will have children. We will make our own family, but I think this is their time, not ours."

Quyen had a funeral suitable for any noble. Most of the people there were there for Qiu: Umi, Qiu's her coworkers, Azula and Katara, the Fire Lord and the Fire Lady. The Head Sage presided over the ceremony and the pallbearers took him to the flame where he was cremated.

Over the next week, they brought Xingyun's stuff to Qiu's house. Umi moved in with her, and this was their home. This was their family.

"Thank you," was all Umi could say as Katara handed over Xingyun. She knew that her happiness was equaled by Katara's sadness.

The waterbender cried all the way home. Azula knew it would be hard, especially on her wife, but she didn't realize how hard she would take it. She only hoped that they had done the right thing.

**February 106AG**

It had been over a month since Umi and Qiu took in Xingyun and the boy was healthy and happy.

Sometimes Qiu would bring him to work, so that Katara could see him and then Umi would come for the baby later.

The waterbender always had a smile on her face when Xingyun appeared, but she was sad when he left.

"I want a baby," Katara told her wife when she got back from her meeting.

"I know," Azula kissed her. "Have you thought about how?"

Katara wasn't sure. They could use an anonymous seed donor, ask one of their brothers, or adopt one.

If Katara had Zuko's baby, that could complicate the line of succession, since Zuko and Mai had yet to procreate. Alternatively, Azula could have Sokka's baby, who would not cause the same trouble, but Azula did not want to become pregnant. Adoption was still an option, but after Xingyun, Katara had this unshakable fear that the birth mother would come back and take him away. She wanted a baby they couldn't lose, one that was fully theirs.

* * *

Azula was in the garden discussing the matter with Xiao Long. _If only two girls could make a baby._

_Why can't they?_

_Um, are you aware of how human reproduction works?_

_Yes, stupid! Kip's has two moms._

_Naturally?_

_Yeah. They went to the Life Spirit._

_There's a Life Spirit?_

_And you thought I was dumb. _

_Where do I find it?_

_She moves around, but maybe Kip can help._

The dragon knew where his mothers had gone and Azula thought it was worth a shot.

"You want to go looking for a spirit to try and make a baby?" Katara questioned.

"Yes."

She was skeptical, as she had never heard of the Life Spirit either, but they didn't have anything to lose.

Kip took them to where his mothers had found the spirit.

_She likes moon peach blossoms._

They followed a path of them until they got to a stream where a giant naked spirit was sunbathing.

"Kip, it's been a long time since I've seen you.

Kip bowed before the life spirit. "I brought some friends who are in need of help."

Azula explained how she and her wife would like to have a child, but they cannot create on their own."

The spirit explained how her tincture worked. They would have to share a drink of wine from her duel headed cup and as long as their love was pure, a life would form between them.

"How do we know who will carry the baby?"

"The baby will choose its mother."

Azula hoped the baby chose Katara.

They knelt before the spirit, and she poured her wine into the cup.

They drank at the same time and afterwards, Azula hugged her wife and thanked the spirit for her kindness.

They returned back to the Fire Nation, where they got ready to go to bed.

"Do you think this will work?" Katara asked.

Azula nodded. "I know our love will pass any test that spirit gave us. We can weather any storm."

Their lips collided as they fell into bed, pushing away the other's clothes before they made love well into the night.

**March 106AG**

Jie started selling brandy to the Northern Air Temple in January and they were buying it faster than she could make it. She ended up buying more containers, so she could produce more at a time, but it would take six weeks before she had more to sell.

Her reputation, however, traveled quickly as people from both Ba Sing Se and Republic City learned of her brandy when the visited the temple and brought some home with them.

Soon, she had requests for more than she could produce, so she enlisted her siblings to help her make more.

By the time it was June, she had a nice stockpile of money. After paying her brothers for their work, she took the rest of the money to an orphanage in Omashu. They had ended up with a lot of the orphans after the war.

The woman running the place cried when she saw the bags of money. "This is for us?"

"Yes. I don't need the money."

They could do the repairs the run down building needed and get some toys for the children. "Oh bless the spirits, what is your name?"

"I'm Jie!"

"Well, thank you Jie!"

Jie had a list of charities that she wanted to help. She would donate to a different one each time she ran out of brandy and then loop back to the beginning when she was done.

**April 106AG**

Sokka and Suki were finally getting married. It had only been six years since they got together.

They had their wedding at the tribe so it would be easy for Gran Gran to go.

This was Toph's first time on the ice. "I hate this," she told Sokka, loudly.

"Sorry, there isn't much earth for you Badger Mole."

"When we get to solid ground, I'm kicking your butt!"

Haru had to guide her all weekend.

Katara found herself struggling to eat the food.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked her. She looked green.

"I'm fine!" she said, but minutes later, she ran away to puke.

Azula ran after her. "This is the third time you've thrown up today. I think it worked."

Katara had almost forgotten about their trip to the life spirit. "You mean we're…"

"Yes, my love. Now wash your face and brush your teeth, so I can kiss you."

Katara cleaned herself up and came back to the wedding. When Kanna looked at them she said, "are you expecting?"

The waterbender nodded.

Sokka said. "If this is a trick to get me to become a father …"

"No you bonehead," Azula told him. "We're having a baby."

"Did Zuko?"

"No."

"Anonymous?"

"No."

"What am I missing?"

"I'm the father," Azula told him.

"Are you operating with a …"

Suki smacked him. "Rude much?"

"How else could she?"

"We went to the life spirit."

"There's a life spirit?" he questioned.

"She lives in the forest on the edge of United Republic."

"I didn't know that."

"We didn't know either until my dragon told me about it."

"So when am I going to be an uncle."

"Probably December."

"It will probably be a waterbender," Kanna told them.

Azula didn't care either way. She just wanted her wife to be happy again.

**August 106AG**

In Republic City, the government noticed that tax revenues were down.

"The liquor tax isn't bringing in as much as we predicted," one member of the council said.

"Either people drink less than we thought or they're drinking moonshine."

They decided to start investigating to see if they could find any bootleggers.

Yakone's former friends had switched to booze production after their brothel failed. They let the "owner" be the fall guy and set up shop in a new building.

"We have problems," one of them reported.

"Let me guess. The Avatar is here to shut us down."

"No. Booze sales are down." The bootleggers were also losing money. People weren't buying their rum, so the bootleggers had to lower the price, which cut into profits.

"How?" Booze is the most stable market there is."

"Apparently not."

They had been undercut by an airbender making brandy for charity. Teo suggested that she move her operations to the Northern Air Temple, since he and his father could build her larger stills and she could produce more brandy at a time. She took them up on the offer and recruited parents who needed the extra income to help with the delivery and sales.

What once was a basement operation was now the largest brandy production in the world. Jie had no idea she was disrupting the alcohol markets of Republic City and Ba Sing Se. She just thought she was making a lot of money for charity.

Kuei was not happy when he learned that alcohol sales were going down. He looked for bootleggers but could not find an explanation for the reduced numbers.

Eventually, one of his advisors came across a bottle of brandy with an Air Nation seal on it. "Did you know that the Air Nation makes alcohol?"

"What?"

They found out it was cheaper than their booze and was being delivered door to door, which their stores were not allowed to do unless there was a catering contract.

"No wonder sales are down."

They complained to Aang immediately as there was no brandy in their trade agreement and demanded either to cease production or recompense.

The Avatar, however, was busy preparing for his wedding. He had his mail screened for emergencies, but off everything else. The acolytes did not consider booze sales an emergency, so they didn't even tell him of the matter. They had his wedding at the Southern Air Temple. All of the acolytes were going crazy trying to get everything just right. Traditionally, they didn't have weddings, so they were using the traditions of the fall festival to shape the event.

Ty Lee's family was driving her crazy. Her six sisters all showed up to Kyoshi Island to help her get ready for the wedding, fussing with the warriors over her dress, nightwear, and bachelorette party. It was like having 12 sisters and it was too much. Her father, of course, was the only man skeptical about his daughter marrying the avatar. "No one pays him. How will he support you and a family?"

Her mother was so happy that Ty Lee was settling down and would stop fighting. "Now make him some airbenders."

The former acrobat wanted to run away. Suki was suddenly very happy that she had been an only child.

**September 106AG**

Katara's baby bump was obvious now. "This sucks," she growled. "I'm fat. My feet are fat. My back hurts like FUCK!"

"You're language," Ursa scolded. "It's bad for the baby."

Katara rolled her eyes. When Ursa learned she would be a grandmother, she decided to come from Hira'a to help Azula and Katara. The firebender was glad her mother was actually proud of her for once. Katara wanted to smack the woman.

"It's not all bad," Azula said happily. "You've been really horny lately."

"AZULA!" her mother scolded.

"It's not her fault. The baby's putting pressure on her womanly bits."

"MY WOMANLY BITS!" Katara got mad.

"I don't know all the proper terminology okay. I just know that we have fun at night." Azula kissed her cheek. "I'll give you a rub down before we leave okay."

"Okay," It was hard to stay mad at the woman who massaged her back and feet daily and who made love to her every night.

Ursa looked at Zuko.

"I'm not ready for a baby," he told her.

"I was going to remind you that we're leaving in an hour and a half. You don't look ready for the wedding."

"Oh right," he said. "The servants have my formal robes. I'll change there."

"You need to shave," Ursa told him. She hated his facial hair.

"I have to agree," Azula said. "It makes your resemble a certain warmonger."

Zuko ran to shave.

"Was that necessary?" Katara asked.

"It worked."

Ursa shook her head.

* * *

30 minutes later, Azula had Katara on her back, while she massaged her starting with her feet and working her way up. "Have I told you your boobs are totally huge now?"

"Don't make me smack you. They hurt."

"I can rub them too."

"I'm sure you love that."

"I love rubbing you anywhere," Azula said with a carnal smile. She started to make her way up to Katara's back, giving her butt a squeeze along the way before Katara yelped.

"Did that hurt?"

"No, the baby kicked."

Azula put her hand and felt a cold feeling. "I bet it's a waterbender. Firebenders have hot kicks."

"You're not disappointed?"

"Never," Azula kissed her wife's stomach. To prove her excitement, they had victory sex after her massage treatment.

"You need to bathe before this wedding," Ursa told Azula through the door.

"Think we can get another round in during our bath?" Katara asked.

Azula grinned. "Oh yeah!"

They took a sky ship instead of the dragons, so Katara could lie down. Azula cuddled by her side. "I love you and our baby."

"They're so cute," Mai said of the couple. Azula had been Mr. Dad lately, reading maternity books, going to the store to buy various things. She even planned a surprise baby shower for Katara once they got back to the palace.

"I can't believe she's going through with this," Zuko assumed she'd skip out on kids, but she seemed pretty excited about it.

Kip and Xiao Long flew alongside the sky ship.

They wanted to see the wedding too and play with Appa's daughter. She was still a baby and was so cute.

Friends, family, and politicians came from around the world to celebrate this historic moment. All of the airbenders were coming, as were all of the refugees who still lived in the Northern Air Temple. Of course, Team Avatar was making a reunion as was the White Lotus and every world leader would be there.

Toph hated flying, so Haru distracted her the whole ride with kisses. They would be getting married in the spring of next year. When she got there, she was relieved to learn that this wasn't a dry wedding, even though Aang still didn't drink.

"Thank the spirits. I drank all my whiskey on the way here!"

"Me too," Sokka told her.

Guru Pathik married them and when they kissed, everyone was applauding loudly.

They had "time to reflect" before the feast and Aang and Ty Lee meditated together.

"Aw is that like monk foreplay?" Azula asked.

Ursa chided her.

Katara's friends were all investigating her bump. "Look at this belly," Sokka said as he put his hand on it. "Aw, it's kicking!"

Gran Gran had come with Pakku to the wedding, and she was glad to see her grandbabies.

"Aw, I can't wait to meet my great-grandchild."

Toph felt the heartbeat. "It's an energetic little one."

"I think she's a girl," Azula said.

"Can two girls have a boy?" Sokka questioned.

No one knew for sure.

Katara was surprised when Azula didn't drink at the reception. "You don't have to abstain because I am."

"I know, but I want to be with you in this, and I'd rather be sober with you than drunk with everyone else."

"You're such a softie!"

They started to kiss.

"OOGIES!" Sokka yelped.

"Calm down," Hakoda chided.

"Want to do it in the spring after dark?" Azula asked.

"You're terrible and maybe."

Azula grinned, definitely!

* * *

They had a delicious vegetarian feast. Even Sokka was surprised that the vegetables somehow had flavor. The dishes were rich with spices and flavorful broths. It took up to two days to make some of them.

When the brandy came out, Kuei decided he would confront Aang about the matter, even if it was his wedding. When he did, however, the Avatar had no idea what he was talking about.

"What brandy?"

"It has the Air Nation logo on it."

Aang shrugged. "I don't really patrol the other temples. I don't make it."

"But they're your citizens."

"But we don't really have laws. We have more guiding principles. I can send an advisement, but I don't even know at whom I'm directing it."

Kuei was not satisfied with Aang's indifference. He started to ask around about it.

"Oh that's good stuff," General Fong told him. "There's this nice woman who brings it to my door."

"They don't pay taxes."

"Do they have to? I heard all the money goes to charity."

"What?"

When he learned Jie donated all the profits, he was mad.

"That means they don't pay taxes?" he asked his advisors.

"Generally we don't tax charities because they're easing the burden of the government. When people donate to orphanages and food kitchens, it means the government gives out less in welfare benefits."

"But she's ruining the market!"

He confronted the girl who only said, "we deliver where people ask me to deliver. I didn't know there were any rules when it came to other nations."

"You just started selling it?"

"Yeah. I used to sell it out my basement, but I got too many orders to fill."

"Your basement? Where do you live?"

"Um it's United Republic Now, but it used to be the Earth Kingdom."

"How long have you lived there?"

"My whole life."

"So you never paid any taxes to anyone."

"What taxes? I don't have any money."

Kuei was not going to get to the bottom of the debacle today.

The representatives from United Republic didn't make the connection between the brandy and their loss of sales so they just drank it and had fun.

Azula hugged Ty Lee. "Congratulations my friend."

"You too. Going to be a papa."

"I can't wait. I never thought I'd be so happy about a baby."

"Are you taking good care of Katara?"

"The best."

"Good."

Ursa and Iroh were dancing.

"Where's your husband?"

"He's at home with Kiyi. They didn't really know Aang or Ty Lee, so they stayed home. I really came to see how the baby is doing."

"She looks ready to pop."

"She has three months to go. I know the last three months are hardest, so I wanted to make sure they were okay. I didn't think Azula would have read so many parenting books."

"She has?"

"She read like five. They sometimes had conflicting information and she'd underline them and demand a correct answer. Some things don't change," Ursa laughed.

As the people danced, Azula held her wife, keeping her warm, as the air got chilly.

"You're the best blanket," Katara told her.

"I know."

"Do you wish you were dancing right now?" Katara was too tired for that.

"No. I'm dancing on the inside." Azula kissed her.

"Maybe we should go inside."

Azula raised a brow.

"Not for that!"

"AW! I'll take you in."

Azula scooped her up and carried her inside the library so she could be warmer.

* * *

Chief Arnook congratulated Chief Hakoda on becoming a grandfather.

"You must be so excited."

"I can't wait," Hakoda admitted. He wasn't sure how they would procreate without a man, but of course, Katara found a way anyhow.

"Do they find out the particulars?"

"Not officially, but they suspect she's a waterbender."

"A waterbending Fire Nation princess."

"I know. I never thought it would happen."

Everyone wanted to dance with Aang and Ty Lee. They started off together, but got separated a few times. Eventually, Aang needed a break and airbended away to the library. He saw Azula and Katara canoodling.

"I'm glad we waited to have our baby," Azula told her.

"Me too. I thought I'd never stop missing Xingyun, but he's good where he's at." He was already walking and soon he'd be talking.

Umi and Qiu had their hands full, but they were really happy.

"I wonder when they'll get married."

"They'll probably elope," Katara told her.

"Yeah, I could see that."

The two wives held hands. They were so right for each other. Aang was still a bit embarrassed that it took him so long to see it.

"Are you hiding from your wife?" Azula teased.

"No. I'm hiding from the guests."

Katara shook her head. "You should sneak away with Ty Lee for a little bit. This is your day. It should be peaceful."

"Everyone keeps finding us."

"I can set a distraction," Azula offered.

_Xiao Long, can you and Kip do a show for the guests?_

The couple was canoodling by the stream.

_Yeah, we got it._

Five minutes later, a beautiful dance between two dragons hit the sky.

The crowd oohed and awed. Azula and Katara watched from inside. Aang found Ty Lee and they watched the beginning together, only to sneak away to a private spot while the rest of the crowd was mesmerized.

Xiao Long kept saying Kip was too cheesy for her, but he eventually melted away her defenses, and they fell in love.

"That was so beautiful," Sokka said, having never seen two dragons dance before.

"Is that how it feels to firebend?" Katara asked her wife.

"Yeah it is."

Instead of in the spring, they ended up having fun on the library couch.

"I love you," Katara told her. "Always and forever."

"I couldn't be happier."

* * *

Aang and Ty Lee spent their secret time, kissing and stargazing.

"Remember when we first stargazed," Ty Lee asked him.

"Yeah, Hei Won lost her marbles and almost murdered Katara."

"I meant it was a sweet moment before that you butt!"

"Oh," he laughed. "Yeah it was. And if that crazy stuff hadn't happened, Azula wouldn't have proposed the next day. Zuko wouldn't have proposed the following week. It started the marriage boom."

"I guess it did."

"And here we are, married."

They eventually returned to their guests where they danced and chatted some more until it was time for the cake and shortly after that, Aang whisked Ty Lee away for their wedding night.

The temple was large and many of the guests stayed overnight as flying home would have been too far.

The tribe, however, was close so the Southern Water Tribe people flew home that night.

The Kyoshi warriors could have flown home that night, but they waited until morning.

Zuko and his family flew overnight, but there were beds on the ship, so they could sleep on the way.

Zuko finally learned how loud Katara's snoring actually was.

"And she says she doesn't snore," Mai teased.

"At least they're not rutting."

"I heard they did that at the wedding."

"EW!"

Kuei was determined to find some way to stop Jie's business from taking away his tax revenue. Little did he realize that he would attract the attention of mob bosses who had their own idea of who should capitalize on the sales of alcohol.


	27. Chapter 27

**October 106AG**

When Aang found came back from his honeymoon, he found out that Kuei had filed a case against him in the world court.

"He would do this."

"What's wrong?" Ty Lee kissed his head.

"Kuei's suing me over that brandy Jie makes."

"Why?"

"Because it's cheaper than the booze his city sells, so people aren't buying his booze."

"Why doesn't he lower the price so he can compete?"

"Because the price is high so he can get tax money. If he removed the taxes, they could compete, but then he would still not get any money."

"What are you going to do?"

"Defend Jie. What else can I do?"

* * *

Since he called for a world tribunal, the leaders of every nation had to attend. This meant the entire council of United Republic, since there was no individual sovereign.

They had the meeting in Omashu, since it was somewhat centrally located for everyone.

Zuko and Mai went to represent the Fire Nation, leaving Azula in charge in his absence.

Aang and Ty Lee went for the Air Nation. Jie and Teo also showed up since they were running the operation. Kuei and his lawyers came for the Earth Kingdom. Chiefs Arnook and Hakoda came for their tribes.

"Let's call this meeting to order," Aang said. "Usually, I conduct the meetings, but I'm usually not the one being sued, so I'll hand the gavel over to Sokka, and he will conduct this meeting."

"Thank you all for coming," Sokka started. "I'm going to give the floor to Kuei since this is his case."

"My city, like most cities, relies on tax revenue to build the roads and do other public works. Much of our revenue comes from the liquor tax. As most of you know, the Earth Kingdom people like their liquor.

One day, we noticed sales were down. We thought we were being undercut by bootleggers, only to discover that Jie was making brandy in the Air Nation and selling it to our residents, without any permit or even inclusion in the trade agreement between the Air Nation and the Earth Kingdom.

Obviously, this brought down our tax revenue since people preferred her cheaper brandy, and when we approached them, she said I didn't know I had to file any paperwork or get any permission, but she keeps selling. We are asking for damages and an injunction to prevent the Air Nation from selling liquor in our country without permission."

"Do we do questions now or does Aang respond first?" Sokka wasn't sure.

"I have a question for Kuei. How come you didn't notice her bringing in brandy for months?" Hakoda questioned.

"I'm not sure how she got it in the country, but it's there. I brought a bottle as proof!"

"That was the brandy at the wedding," one councilman called out.

"It's good shit!"

"Um that is not competent evidence," Sokka told them. "Well its appearance at the wedding suggest that the Air Nation makes it, but I don't think its deliciousness is relevant, although it is really good!"

"Thanks," Jie told him.

"Any more questions?"

None.

"I give the floor to Aang."

"Um, I don't really know anything about the brandy, so I'm going to give the floor to Jie."

"So my dad taught me how to make brandy when I was 12. We would trade it for apple juice or fruit pies. Once the Avatar found us, we were able to stop hiding and I started bringing the brandy with me and giving it away. Sokka suggested I could make money selling it. so I started selling it from my basement and giving the money to charity."

"Where's your basement?" Hakoda asked her.

"United Republic."

"Wait a minute," a councilman started. "You sell this out of our nation?"

"Well I did, but people wanted more than I could sell, so I hired my brothers and we made more, but that wasn't enough either, so Teo suggested we move to the Northern Air Temple and open a bigger distillery. We did and started selling it to the locals and then I started getting requests to sell to Republic City and Ba Sing Se, but I couldn't do all the deliveries myself, so I hired people in the Air Nation to deliver the whiskey on sky bison and …"

"So you just flew it into the country without asking?" Hakoda questioned.

"Yeah. I assumed that was fine. I never went to school or nothing, so no one told me about international laws or whatever. I didn't know anyone was mad until Kuei asked me at the wedding, and he said tax revenue for him was down, but he didn't tell me what laws he thought I was breaking. I didn't think I broke any, so I kept selling."

"And where does the money go?" Arnook asked her.

"I donate it to various charities. I have a rotation."

"So you just give the money away?" Sokka questioned.

"Yeah, I don't need it."

"Where are these charities?" Sokka asked her.

"Some of them are in Ba Sing Se. Some of them are in Republic City. One was some type of ocean clean up on Kyoshi Island."

"So you never paid any taxes because you never kept any money," Arnook asked for clarification.

"Yeah. Why would I pay taxes on nothing?"

"But it isn't nothing," Kuei insisted. "She had lots of money and gave it away. Even if she had gambled it away, she'd still have to pay taxes."

"But gambling is a type of leisure," Aang added. "Charity isn't. Your city got most of the money anyway. You just didn't get to waste it on your stupid military projects that are going nowhere."

Kuei got really mad.

"You mean like that weird catapult thing that broke and almost crushed that village," Sokka questioned. "That thing was a terrible idea."

Zuko finally spoke. "It sounds like she meant well, but didn't know any rules, so why don't we just forge an agreement to work prospectively and move on."

The leaders looked at the typical import tax rate of liquor and took into account about how much money she gave away. They realized, quite easily, that she gave away much more than she ever would have paid in taxes. "Even if she only gave the city half of the profits, that's still more than double what the tax rate would have been," Zuko noted. "Why is this a case?"

"Because taxes are to be distributed by the government," Kuei insisted. "Why should she decide where the money goes?"

"But don't you give tax deductions when people donate to charities anyway?" Aang challenged. "Aren't your people also choosing where the money goes?"

To make the case go away, they decided Jie would pay half the rate of a normal import tax and could spend the rest of the money on charity or whatever she wanted.

* * *

This got everyone out of the meeting and heading home, but unfortunately, it caught the attention of the Yakone's friends who had been making money bootlegging.

"So this airbending chick is stealing our profits!"

"Let's teach her a lesson."

They sent their goons to the Northern Air Temple and showed up during the week while she was making brandy.

"You need to stay out of Republic City!"

"Who are you?"

The man produced a club. "You're worst nightmare."

He swung it at her head, but being an airbender, she quickly evaded him. This continued as he and his buddies chased her around the distillery. When they couldn't get her, they settled for ruining her distillery and tried to break her still. Unfortunately, she didn't take too kindly to this and ejected them out of the building with her airbending.

Instead of roughing her up and teaching her a lesson, they retreated with bruises and broken bones.

She might be nice, but she wasn't going to let any thugs intimidate her.

Teo, on the other hand, was worried about her safety. "Maybe we should get a guard."

Jie wasn't too worried about it. "I'll write to my brothers, but I don't think we need outside help."

When the enforcers came back with their tails between their legs, the bosses were not impressed.

"Well that really showed her," one complained.

"Maybe we should send her family a message."

They found out her family lived in the forest and sent some different enforcers there. To catch the attention of Chao, they set the forest near his house on fire. The airbender went to suppress the flames by stealing the air from the fire when he saw that an attack was coming.

"Your niece needs to learn her place."

"She needs to stay out of United Republic!"

Instead of fleeing, he blew his whistle, sending his sky bison on the attack. They started charging at the goons, and it was not a pretty sight.

The bosses still weren't happy. She beat them up. Her family could beat them up. She hardly seemed to have a weak spot, until someone saw her with Teo.

They hired kidnappers to take him while she was at work.

The first few days they watched him, he worked alongside Jie but on the fourth day, he went to work with his father. When the Mechanist took a lunch break, they broke into his shop and took Teo.

All they left was a note.

"If you want Teo back, tell Jie to stop selling her brandy in Republic City."

* * *

Of course, when he got back he freaked. He ran to the brewery where Jie had been working.

"Write to the Avatar," she told him. "I'm going to Republic City now!" No one takes her Teo.

The Mechanist sent an expedited letter with an emergency seal.

Teo woke up in a dark room. He had been strapped down on his arms and legs, which was bizarre, since he couldn't walk anyway.

"Your girlfriend has been quite a nuisance to us!"

"She pays her taxes now. What is this about?"

"We're not the FUCKING tax man."

"Then why do you care?"

"We had a good thing going and once her brandy hit the streets, people wanted it and stopped paying as much for our whiskey as they used to."

"Isn't that how the market works?"

"Shut up!" he punched Teo in the face. "The point is you FUCK that she came into our market, and we want her out!"

"She's gonna kick your ass like she did those other thugs!"

"If she can find you."

The first thing Jie did was find Sokka. "It's an emergency. They kidnapped Teo."

"What? Who kidnapped him?"

"I don't know. These thugs came and told me to stop making brandy. I beat them up and then Teo got kidnapped." She showed him the ransom note.

"Who would want you to stop selling here?"

"I don't know."

"It must be some kind of cartel," the police concluded. "We thought someone might be selling moonshine. You must have cut into their profits!"

"Where are they?"

The officer shrugged. We never found 'em, but we'll start looking for Teo right … hey who took my sandwich."

Jie rolled her eyes.

"Maybe we should look on our own," Sokka said.

They started downtown, looking for any building that seemed suspicious.

They didn't see anything before it got dark.

"Lots of times," Sokka said, "the crooks come out at night."

They looked around the city, hoping for some kind of clue when they saw one man loading what looked like barrels into a carriage. Wanting to get closer, Jie airbended so she could watch from above. Of course, she sent dust into Sokka's nose and he sneezed, giving them away.

"RUN!"

One man took off running down the street. Another hopped into the carriage and took off. Jie chased the carriage while Sokka chased the running man. She airbended him out of the carriage and brought it to a stop. "What's in here?" she threw a barrel on the ground with her airbending and whiskey poured out. "Y'all bootleggers!"

The man did not want her to smash him like she had the barrel and admitted. "Yeah, we sell booze. What do you care?"

"Bootleggers kidnapped my boyfriend."

The guy shrugged. "I only do deliveries."

"Where's the boss?"

She got a location while Sokka threw his boomerang to catch the running man. He did, but then he knocked him out.

Jie found him.

"If we wait for him to wake up …"

"I already know where the boss is at."

"Oh, okay!"

They went to the location and Jie blasted the door open. "Where's my boyfriend?"

He was in the basement.

"Ready to stop selling," one man sneered.

She airbended him into the wall. "If you did anything to Teo, I will end you."

"Aren't airbenders supposed to be pacifists?" another questioned.

"I'M NOT!"

Sokka heard some muffled noise. "I think we need to go downstairs."

They ran down to see Teo tied chained to the wall. They had beaten him for his snide remarks and Jie lost it. Before they knew it, the kidnappers found themselves cut up by one of her cyclones. and she threw them to the ground. One of them bounced.

Sokka's jaw dropped. That was totally gnarly.

"Jie, you came!"

"Of course I did!"

She undid the shackles and got him down. "Now let's go home."

Sokka went home while she flew Teo to the temple to get treated.

* * *

In the morning, the bosses found out she beat up their henchmen, destroyed their hideout and ruined a shipment of whiskey.

"Maybe we should leave her alone," one suggested. "She's fucking crazy."

If their problems weren't bad enough, they got worse when the avatar appeared. He left before the second letter came telling them Teo had been recovered, and when he showed up, the cops suddenly took the case seriously. Many of the henchmen who hadn't ended up in the hospital ended up in jail.

The bosses were foiled again.

"I wish Yakone were here," one of them admitted. "He'd know what to do."

Yakone, however, was damaged goods. He couldn't make a comeback or could he?

**November 106AG**

Jina raised Noatak by herself. The police hadn't taken her complaint seriously and when she knew she could only get civil damages, she took the money and ran. She ended up in Omashu. She was a nonbender, but Noatak could waterbend. Eventually, he'd need a teacher, but right now, he was content with playing. She hoped he never learned who his father was. The man had been a monster.

In the Northern Water Tribe, Yakone's estranged wife changed her baby's name to Tarrlock. She changed her own name so that no one would associate her with her husband. Her boy was a waterbender, like the father he would hopefully never meet. Fate was a funny thing. When she married Yakone, he had promised her the world. She promised him a son. She didn't get the world. He didn't actually get the son and now she had to find her way on her own. She shuttered to think about what kind of father he would have been. Their child probably would have been a monster if he had raised him.

**December 106AG**

Katara wasn't due for another two weeks. Her Gran Gran had just arrived to be there for her in the final stretch. Azula wanted Katara to stay in the palace for the delivery, just in case anything happened.

The couple was going for a walk in the garden when Katara paused.

"What's wrong?"

"My legs are all wet."

"DOCTOR!"

Katara's water broke. They got her to her maternity bed and Azula managed to keep her somewhat comfortable with her heated hands. She kept rubbing Katara's back, trying to ease the pain from her, as she got ready to bring their child into the world.

Gran Gran got her a cold compress and put it on her head. "You're going to do great."

Pakku was scared of being in the room. He stayed outside with some whiskey. Zuko said he'd come by closer to the delivery time. Mai wanted to give the couple their privacy, and Ursa wanted to know what was going on every five minutes.

"It's going to be a while," Kanna told her. "Like hours!"

The grandmother to be was disappointed.

Pakku asked "where was Iroh?" He figured the man would have come if he knew they were having the baby soon.

Ursa shrugged. "I don't know. I told him when she was due and it's a little early, but I couldn't miss it for the world."

She sent a letter to her husband to say today was the day. He would come with Kiyi in a couple of days so she could meet her niece or nephew.

A few hours into the labor, Aang and Ty Lee came with gifts for the new baby. "The acolytes made the baby a blanket."

"We brought more diapers, since you can never have too many!"

They went into check on Katara only for Aang to get ice daggers thrown at him. He ran to retreat.

"What did you do to deserve that?" Ursa questioned.

"I thought my past lives counted when it came to childbirth. I was uninformed!"

"OOH!" Pakku said to him.

"Can you block pain away like you do chi?" Azula asked Ty Lee.

"Um, I don't know if it can work like that. I'd be too afraid of messing up. Maybe I'll try it on someone not pregnant for next time."

"I'm never doing this again!" Katara hissed. "You have the next baby!"

Azula went back to massaging her neck. "It will all be okay. I'm going to keep you nice and relaxed."

"RELAXED HOW CAN I RELAX?"

"Trust me, when little Ozaila is born, it will all be worth it."

Ty Lee's jaw dropped.

"I WILL NOT NAME OUR DAUGHTER AFTER THAT PSYCHOPATHIC WARMONGER!"

Azula chuckled. "I was only kidding love."

"WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT WAS FUNNY?"

"I was distracting you from the pain."

"Oh it kind of worked. Yelling's fun."

Azula asked the nurse to send for her brother.

He came, and Katara promptly started yelling at him for being a man, and therefore he was evil!

He ran away scared.

The women laughed.

"Yelling at Zuko is really fun!"

"He turns red like a tomato carrot," Azula commented.

"Women are crazy!" Zuko yelled before he locked himself in his office.

* * *

10 hours, after the labor started, Princess Kya was born.

"She's gorgeous," Ursa told them when she came back cleaned up. She had blue eyes and dark skin like her mother, but she had Azula's raven black hair and her lips.

"She's a beautiful waterbender, just like her mama!" Azula held her proudly. "She's going to be so pretty. All the boys will want her, but I will chase them away with fire!"

Katara's jaw dropped. "Let me hold her."

Everyone came to get a look at the newest princess. The sages rang the bells to tell the country a new Princess had arrived.

Zuko picked her up. "She's so tiny and cute."

Mai looked at her warmly. "She is precious. She looks like both of her parents."

"How could she be any prettier?" Azula said proudly.

Ty Lee picked her up next. "Oh I can tell you will be an energetic little one. I can see it in her aura."

"What does her aura say other than eat, sleep, and poop?" Azula questioned.

Ursa shook her head. "I'm a grandma!"

Kanna couldn't wait to hold her great granddaughter. "She's perfect." The baby would be very well loved. She had two nations to call her home and they both adored her.

The next day, Umi and Qiu came by. They brought Xingyun. "Say hi to Kya."

"Ky-uh!"

"Aw that's so cute," Katara cooed.

"She's a beauty," Qiu told them.

Over the first week, they got lots of visitors. Sokka and Suki came to meet their niece. Toph and Haru came to see the baby as did Kiyi and Ikem and a bunch of nobles. They got cards and gifts from all over the world. Teo sent them radios to use as baby monitors.

Jie sent them a bottle of brandy that was bottled when she was born and said they should save it for when Kya can eat solid food and Katara can drink again.

Azula tucked the bottle away. There was only one person who didn't show up.

"I'm surprised Iroh didn't come here," Katara said.

"I'm not."

"But he's your uncle."

"In name only." Azula went to go hold Kya.

Katara frowned but she didn't speak. She was too tired.

Iroh did appear in January.

He decided to take a winter holiday and thought he should visit his family.

Azula had Kya in her office. Katara fussed that Azula didn't watch her enough.

"I don't know why she thinks you need 24/7 attention. You just sleep most of the time."

Azula wrote her correspondence while Kya was in a crib.

Iroh came to their quarters to see there was no baby.

He was hoping to see her without having to talk to his niece. She always glared at him so creepily.

"Katara."

"Iroh."

"Congratulations on the baby."

"Thank you. She's perfect."

"Where is she?"

"Azula has her for the day. I told her I'm always watching her, and she said watching her was easy, so I handed her over. They're probably in her office."

"Oh I won't intrude."

"Oh it's no bother."

She went into the office.

"Iroh's here."

"That's nice," Azula kept writing.

"Aren't you going to talk to him?"

"About what?"

Kya started to cry.

"See, even the mention of him makes babies cry."

Azula picked her up and said, "what do you need baby girl?" She didn't need a diaper change. Azula had just done that. She looked like she needed to eat. "She needs you Mama-bear!"

Katara came and fed her.

"Did I ever tell you it's charming to see you feed our baby?"

"No."

"It's quite wonderful."

"You don't mean in a perverse manner?"

"Of course NOT!"

"You do have such a dirty mind."

"Not as dirty as yours."

Katara took Kya to meet her uncle Iroh.

"Oh she looks like you."

"She does, doesn't she?"

Kya started crying when Iroh took her.

"It's okay. He's just your uncle." Katara kissed her and she stopped. "She's a shy little one," Katara said, not wanting him to feel bad. She wasn't shy with anyone else.

"Oh she's so young. She'll grow out of it."

* * *

Azula stayed in her office all afternoon and watched Kya while she worked. The rest of the family had dim sum and tea.

"So how long are you here for?" Zuko asked.

"I thought a few weeks would be nice."

"Have you seen the baby Princess?"

"Oh yes, she's adorable."

"Where is she?"

"Azula has her," Katara told him.

"By herself?"

"She can watch a baby. She even told me it was easy when I said she didn't watch her enough, so I handed her over."

"And Azula hasn't come running back to you yet?"

"No. She's been fine."

It wasn't until dinner that Iroh saw his niece. She avoided looking at his direction or talking to him at all.

Zuko suggested they have drinks after dinner, but when the others went to the lounge, Azula said she was going to check on Kya.

Katara assumed she was coming back and went to the lounge. Iroh challenged Mai to a game of pai sho and they started talking. Zuko asked Katara if Azula was in a bad mood today.

"She hasn't been very talkative," Katara wasn't going to say what put her in a bad mood, especially not with Iroh in the room. "I think she's just tired."

Azula stayed with the baby, not coming out at all.

When Katara went to check on her, she said, "I wasn't in the mood to socialize, so I stayed in here."

"You don't want to spend time with your family."

"I see them all the time."

"Not everyone."

"Everyone who I need to see."

Kya woke up from her nap. Katara took her and Azula went to bed.

The waterbender brought her baby to the lounge.

"Where's Azula?" Zuko asked her.

"Sleeping."

Before Katara went to bed, Mai asked her, "What's really wrong with Azula?"

"She's been in a bad mood ever since Iroh got here."

"Because he got here."

"I guess. She always gives one word answers when she doesn't want to talk."

"Oh I know."

The next day, Azula had errands to run. She took Kya with her. "Come on. You're going to work with Papa today."

Katara woke up with a note on her dresser.

"Took Kya with me for the morning. Feel free to sleep in. Azula."

Katara closed her eyes. "I haven't slept-in for some time." The waterbender went back to sleep.

When she woke up again, it was lunchtime. She had lunch in the dining room.

"Where's your wife?" Mai asked her.

"She went out on some errand. She took Kya with her."

"So she's just going to hide out of the palace as long as she can."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly remembered she had to go to Republic City."

"Her family never handled confrontation well. It's either extreme rage or running away."

"In that case, I'd rather she run than start a firefight in the palace."

Azula didn't return until almost dinnertime.

"She must be starving," Katara said as she picked up their daughter.

"I brought formula with me. She's fine."

"I didn't realize you still had any."

"We bought some in case you had trouble nursing, remember."

"Oh right." Kya was asleep. "How was work?"

"Same old junk. Went around to nobles, making dubious deals one after another."

"And you brought our daughter for this?"

"People go soft on you when they see a cute baby, and she's the cutest."

"Pimping out our baby?"

"Never. Just using her cuteness as a weapon!"

Katara shook her head. "Let's get ready for dinner."

Mai was surprised that Azula showed up to dinner at all.

"Where have you been all day?" Zuko asked her.

"Out."

"No crap. I meant where."

"Someone has to visit your allies and convince them you care about their loyalty."

"You were schmoozing all day?"

"It's more effective to schmooze when you have a baby in tow."

"Princess Kya made her political debut before she could walk."

"Oh, she'll be a star. With Katara's eyes and my raven hair, oh she'll be unstoppable."

"Your raven hair?" Mai questioned.

"People love my hair. I'm convinced that when I wear it down an angel sings."

"You're so ridiculous," Katara told her wife.

"You're just jelly."

"Jelly?"

"Jealous, duh!"

"Who says jelly for jealous?"

"Only the cool kids!"

"I oughta ban you from Umi's house."

"Then where am I going to gossip?"

"So if your hair is so marvelous, why do you wear it up?" Mai questioned.

"I get hit on too much," Azula said. "It's annoying."

"What?" Zuko snorted.

"When I take my hair down, people don't realize who I am, and random men think they have a chance. I'm too pretty to wear my hair down."

"You are so conceited." Katara told her.

"You know you love it."

"That's what you think."

Katara tried to keep Azula's focus on her and it worked. Her mood considerably improved.

"Let's go stargazing tonight," Katara whispered in her ear.

They got blankets and snuggled on the pavilion.

"I missed you," Katara said.

"I'll be here tomorrow."

"It's not just physical," Katara said. "When you get moody, it's like I'm shut out."

"I'm sorry." Azula kissed her affectionately. "I'll try to let you in more."

"Just hold me."

Katara fell asleep outside. Azula carried her back in and they went to bed. When Katara woke up, Azula had her arms wrapped around her.

"Where's Kya?"

"Mai took her this morning, so we could sleep in. She'll come if she needs anything."

"Mai was here?"

"About an hour ago. You slept through it."

About an hour later, Katara took back Kya. "Thank you for watching her."

"Oh she was easy. She slept most of the time."

Katara really meant thank you for giving her and Azula extra time this morning. They needed it.

* * *

Now, Kya was six weeks old.

Azula and Katara were celebrating by going out to dinner and a show, their first date since they had her.

"Now be good for uncle Zuzu and aunt Mai," she told her baby.

Zuko only grunted.

"Do you have everything?" Katara asked.

"Diapers, formula, baby blanket and her pajamas, we're good."

Katara kissed her baby's head. "Thank you for watching her."

"Not a problem."

The two girls were off.

At dinner, Iroh asked where Katara and Azula had gone.

"They went out to dinner," Zuko told them.

"Was there a special occasion?"

"Kya's six weeks old," Mai told him.

Iroh chucked, "I see."

"Why is six weeks a milestone?" Zuko questioned.

"It's not," Mai told him. "It's the time it takes for a woman to heal after childbirth."

Zuko frowned at the implication. "EW!"

"Get over it."

Azula and Katara dined at one of the finest steakhouses in the city. It was a little chilly to eat outside, so they ate inside in a room, with a giant window so they look out to the city below.

"Do you like the view?" Azula purred.

"It's perfect," Katara kissed her nose. They used to go out more when they were in Republic City. There was no chef to cook for them there, so it was a special treat. They also weren't married yet, much less parents.

They shared the porterhouse and also got a dessert for two.

"What kind of show are we seeing?" Katara asked, having not yet seen the tickets.

"The best kind."

Azula took her to the ballet. It was her favorite because there were no words; thus, there was no bad acting. The dancers were all flawless, excellent form and they remembered every move. It was such a wonderful flow.

Katara was surprised to see that the show had fire, but when the colors changed as the dancers moved it was quite enchanting.

The crowd applauded eagerly when the show was over.

"I can't believe our date night came to an end so quickly," Katara told her wife as they took the carriage back to the palace.

"It just started," Azula told her with a smirk.

Azula picked up her wife, running with her bridal style into their bedroom. Katara laughed the whole way as Azula pulled her to their bed and eagerly began undressing her. She showed a wildness that reminded the waterbender of their first time when Azula ravished her on her couch and in her bed.

She was quick to get them both naked, but slow to actually move on to the main event. The firebender covered her wife in warm kisses and touches before moving her hand lower and lower, getting closer to her wife's awaiting sex but not yet touching it.

Katara grew impatient. "Fuck me!"

Azula licked her lips. "Oh I will, in time my pet."

She kissed her way down to her wife's hips and teased her just a bit more before shoving her hot tongue inside.

"OH SPIRITS!" Katara pushed Azula's head forward, forcing the woman's tongue deeper into her. "Keep going!"

Azula twisted and turned her tongue, moving it back and forth as she slipped a finger in to probe her wife. Azula couldn't detect any signs of soreness, good! She curled the finger forward, finding her wife's g-spot before pulling her tongue out of her wife and moving it onto her now engorged clitoris.

A second finger joined the first and Azula used her tongue and hand to bring her wife to orgasm.

"OH FUCK!" Katara thrashed on the bed as Azula kept going until her wife was spent.

"Your turn," Katara said once she had her breath back. She would have pleased Azula earlier, but her wife wanted to wait until she could reciprocate.

They enjoyed each other for half the night. Eventually, Katara said, "we do have to take care of Kya tomorrow morning."

"We could just sleep in."

"Azula!"

"I know. We gotta get our baby monster."


	28. Chapter 28

AN: Sorry about the slow updates. It's my last semester of school, and I'm in the weeds.

* * *

**December 107AG**

Azula was showing Kya some of her heirlooms. "This is a jewelry box that my grandfather gave me," she showed her. "My grandmother owned it first, but she died. Someday, it will be yours."

Azula opened the box. There were various rings and necklaces inside. Kya tried to put a ring in her mouth.

"Oh these aren't food," Azula took it back and closed the box. "Someday, you'll have this jewelry. Isn't it shiny?"

"Her party is starting now," Katara told her wife.

"Ready, Miss. Birthday Girl."

Kya giggled as her mother kissed her face. "Let's go!" She put Kya on her shoulders and the family headed to the party.

Princess Kya turned one. They had a little party with her and Xingyun since they both had December birthdays.

Katara had sent an invitation to her brother and his wife, but she was surprised that they actually made the trip from Republic City.

"I thought it would have been too far for just one day."

"I was going to lose my vacation days if I didn't use them," Sokka told her, "So we figured we'd come see you, visit Aang and Ty Lee and then head back to Republic City."

Kya was happy to see her uncle.

"You're favorite uncle's right here!"

"Why can I be the favorite uncle?" Zuko pouted.

"She's too young to pull pranks on you," Azula told him. "What fun are you to her now?"

He flipped her off.

Xingyun saw him and started flipping people off.

Umi folded her arms at the Fire Lord.

"Oops!"

* * *

They served lunch, along with beer and wine for the adults. Kya was just starting to eat solid foods. She was breastfeed for breakfast and sometimes lunch, but dinner would be a vegetable mash and meat.

The adults had roasted tomato carrots and ribs. Kya got her ribs chopped up for her and her tomato carrots had been pureed.

"MEAT!" Sokka said happily.

"MEAT!" Kya repeated as she ate. She had just started talking two months before and when people said easy words in front of her, she would repeat them.

She finished her plate and then tried to get one of Sokka's ribs.

"Oh we need to cut it for you," Katara said as she went to get Kya another rib.

"MEAT!" she yelped as she reached for Sokka's plate.

"Mine," he told her.

"Mine," she responded to everyone's laughter.

"Sokka has the same vocabulary as our one year old," Azula teased.

He stuck out his tongue at her.

Kya stuck her tongue out at her uncle, earning more laughter.

The kids got put down for naps after they ate. Neither of them was eating cake yet, so the adults ate their birthday cake.

"She's so sweet," Umi said of Kya.

"She must not take after either of her mothers," Mai teased.

"Speaking of mothers, when are you going to make an heir?" Azula retorted.

"Ask me that again and I'll kill you."

"When are you…"

Mai drew a knife. She was sick of the sages and the advisors not so subtly reminding her to make a baby. Zuko wasn't ready yet, and she wasn't about to rush him.

Katara turned to Sokka and Suki. "When am I going to be an aunt?"

"Calm down," Sokka told her. "We just got married."

"Yeah, after being together since forever."

Katara was just teasing him. She had plenty to keep herself busy with baby Kya and Xingyun came to play at least once a month.

**January 108AG**

Xingyun was running down the hall. Kya was chasing him. Iroh had come for his winter visit when he saw the two running down the hall. Umi was running after them. "What did I say about not leaving the adults behind?"

Umi got the kids and started to lead them back to the playroom when Iroh approached. "Uma is it?"

"Umi."

"Umi, how are you doing?"

"Fine. Just got two fast little buggers here."

He followed her back to the playroom. "Is he your son?"

"Yes. This is Xingyun."

"I didn't realize you and Qiu adopted a child."

"We got him two years ago," she told him.

"Oh." He hadn't paid much attention.

At the end of Qiu's shift, she came to get her wife and son.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Do we still have time to make it to dim sum before that place closes?"

Qiu checked her pocket watch. "Yeah we do if we hurry."

"Let's go Xingyun. Say goodbye to Kya."

"Bye Kya!"

"Bye Xing!" She couldn't say Xingyun yet.

The two mothers left with their son. Iroh saw that pocket watch yet again, but Qiu was out the door before he could say anything.

He asked Zuko about the watch when he saw him next.

"I've seen the watch, but I don't know where she got it. Did you want to get something like it?"

"I already did once, but I lost it."

"Maybe she got it from the same store."

He didn't see her again for another two days.

Kuei was coming for a meeting the following week and Qiu was going over the security plan. Since they were meeting at City Hall and not the palace, it was the Secretary of State that was in charge of the security plan, but he always coordinated with the Royal Guard.

"I think we should have more guards and shorter shifts if we can," Qiu told her boss. "It's easy to lose focus in a place with lots of people going in and out and we need them to be sharp-minded at all times."

After some more commentary, they took a break. Qiu was headed for the bathroom when she saw Prince Iroh.

She moved out of his way, but then he stopped right in front of her. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"Um, how can I be of service?"

"I was curious about your pocket watch. I gave my son one like it, but I never found it again after the war ended."

"I know."

"You do?"

"He gave it to me, well rather he gave it to my father, and my father gave it to me."

Iroh found that incredulous. "Why would my son give your father anything?"

"Lu Ten and my brother Qiang served together. When Qiang died, it was because he pushed Lu Ten out of the way of an impending rock attack. Lu Ten knew that my brother served because my family didn't have a lot of money, so he sent the watch as a thank you for what my brother had done.

Our family could have used the money, but my father couldn't bear to part with it. It was the only recognition for Qiang's death that he ever got, so he carried it until I enlisted and then he gave it to me as a reminder to why we serve."

Qiu excused herself. She had to hurry if she was going to get to the bathroom before she was expected back at the meeting.

Iroh had never heard this story at all. It sounded too detailed to have been made up on the spot, but he wondered why he had never heard of Qiang before. There wasn't anyone in the palace he could ask right now. The only thing he could do was look at the list of casualties in the siege.

He found a copy of the list at the library and about a month before Lu Ten died, Qiang was listed as a casualty. 14 May 95AG. Iroh couldn't picture the man's face. He realized he'd have to go to City Hall to get more information on the man and when he did, he was baffled. According to the records, Qiang served with Lu Ten not once but thrice. They enlisted about two weeks from each other and would have been in basic training at the same time.

If they were so close that Qiang would have pushed Lu Ten out of the way, then why didn't Iroh remember him? Surely Iroh would have seen the boy around. He must have come to the palace at least once.

It just didn't make sense to him at all.

Zuko saw his uncle spacing out later that day, and he asked him what was wrong?

Iroh relayed the story that Qiu had told him, "but it just doesn't make sense. How could they have been such good friends if I never met him?"

"Are you sure he didn't meet him? I don't want to say this the wrong way, but you were kind of a mess when Lu Ten died. Maybe you blocked it all out."

Iroh was so disoriented that when men came to pay their respects to the General, he couldn't receive them. They often relayed their regards to the sages instead as Ozai was too busy expanding his powers to pay any attention.

Iroh didn't even sort through his son's effects that had been done for him.

Could he have repressed the memory? Did he choose to forget?

"I can't say that's impossible. I just don't remember anything about it at all."

"Well she got the watch somehow, and it's unlikely it she could have taken it from Ba Sign Se, so he must have mailed it to them. I'm sure it came with a letter."

The watch had meant a lot to Iroh. He got it for his son to congratulate him on enlisting. It was a way of reminding him how proud he was of his boy, and that pride never went away. It rubbed him the wrong way that Lu Ten supposedly just gave it away.

Lu Ten hadn't been ungrateful, but he knew Qiang's family needed the money. He didn't and if he had coins on him, he would have sent those instead of the watch. He planned on telling his father about it, but he never got around to it before he died. They had been losing men every day. It just didn't seem worth squabbling over when they were constantly losing friends that had become a second family.

Iroh was lost in his own thought, hardly reacting to anything. Everyone could tell he was behaving strangely, even Azula who hardly paid attention to him.

Eventually, she asked her brother. "What's wrong with him? He usually only gets like this on the anniversary of Lu Ten's death."

Zuko hadn't made the connection before she said it. "I think he's upset about his watch."

"Did he lose it? He should just buy another one."

"Not his own watch, the watch he gave Lu Ten. He just found out Lu Ten had given it away."

"So?"

"What do you mean so? The watch had a lot of sentimental value."

"So much sentimental value that he probably didn't even remember it until he saw Qiu holding it. He must have bought the watch ages ago and didn't see it for almost a decade. I understand being surprised that it wasn't lost after all, but I don't get why he's so upset or angry or whatever he is over it. Lu Ten was trying to do the right thing. Isn't that a good thing?"

"I can't say it's bad that he gave away the watch, but he probably expected it to stay in the family."

Azula shrugged. "It was Lu Ten's watch. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted with it."

"I know."

Apparently, Iroh didn't fully appreciate that. When he asked Qiu for the watch back, she said no, rather quickly.

"You didn't even think about it."

"Alright," she said. "No." She said a minute later.

"Now you're just mocking me."

"It stopped being your watch the moment you gave it to your son."

"How do I know he even gave it to you?"

"My father kept the letter. I can bring it in."

When she presented it to Zuko, he was satisfied that it was rightfully hers. He had no way of authenticating the letter, since no one had kept writing samples from Lu Ten, but it looked like a trained hand wrote it, like his had been trained, and the paper was clearly old. It's not like she forged it overnight.

Qiu didn't say anything else on the matter.

Iroh was sure to rant about it. "What does she need that watch for? It's not like she actually used it as he intended."

Azula thought she was being ridiculous, and she told him so. "So you are mad that the sentimental value to them was worth more than the coins? If she had sold it, you would have no idea where it was anyway."

"Sentimental value, she didn't even know him!"

"Yes she did."

"What?"

"He used to go to her home to pick up her brother when they'd hang out. Didn't you wonder why you didn't remember them being friends? It's because they went out drinking with guys their own age. They didn't come here for tea."

"How could he just give the watch away?"

"Because he knew what Qiang stood for. To Lu Ten, he wasn't just another soldier who died too young; he was one who never should have fought in the first place. Qiang wasn't a spectacular firebender or a great fighter. He was poor, and his family needed the ban advance that came with enlisting.

Qiu and her brother were the fourth generation to enlist under our family. Generation after generation, they were wounded or killed defending a war our family started, but they never stopped serving us. Lu Ten didn't have much to give them at the time, so he gave them the only thing he had with him.

The watch wasn't important because it was shiny or gold. It was important because out of almost 100 years of fighting, it was the first time anyone in our family acknowledged their service at all. They kept it even if it meant their rent money might be late or they were only eating rice for dinner. I understand if you had an attachment to the watch at one point, but I have trouble believing the watch means as much to you as it does to her. It's time to let it go."

Kya came running to her mother.

"Hey Kya," Azula scooped her up.

"MEAT!"

Oh boy. She's becoming a meathead. "Come on, let's get you some lunch."

The little girl seemed to think all food was meat. She called her tomato carrots meat, her bread meat, anything that went on a plate. Azula found her so charming.

She took her daughter to the dining room, leaving Iroh to stew or whatever it was he was doing.

* * *

At home, Qiu was looking through a stack of letters. She wondered if she should have shown them to Iroh, but she was unsure of how he would have reacted. When they weren't deployed, Qiang and Lu Ten would write to each other. Qiu wasn't sure what Lu Ten had done with his letters, but Qiang kept all of his.

They were not explicit, but they suggested something more than just friendship, recounting dinners they had shared or places they had been to together. When she read the letters, she suspected that her brother was gay. He had never brought home any girls, mentioned any girls; even his letters didn't suggest that he or Lu Ten ever had a girlfriend.

In the Fire Nation, girls love military men, and it would have been fairly easy to get one. She had assumed that they didn't have girlfriends because they had each other, but it would be treasonous to suggest that a Prince of the Fire Nation was gay. It would be one thing if he had come out, but that would have surely gotten him disowned by Azulon if not outright killed.

Qiu assumed that Lu Ten never told Iroh if they had been a couple, and she didn't want to change his perception of his dead son. Qiu had never told her own father either. If Qiang and Lu Ten were in the spirit world together, then she hoped her father would understand.

She went through the letters once more. They spanned a period of five years, starting with the break they got after basic training ended until right before they went on Iroh's siege. She wondered if Azula wanted to see them. Surely, she wouldn't care if her cousin had been gay.

She didn't remember to mention the letters to Azula. It wasn't until she saw Azula wearing a leather jacket that she asked, "Where did you get that?"

"Um, I got it from Lu Ten. He was a lot taller than I was, so it was probably a short jacket for him. I use it as a coat."

"Do you mind if I look at the label?"

Azula took it off. "Go ahead."

When Qiu did she saw that it said Qiang under the label. "My brother must have given this to him," she said as she handed it back. Azula had never looked behind the label before. "So he did, or Lu Ten borrowed it and forgot to give it back. I know they were close, but do you know how close?"

It seemed odd that Lu Ten would have kept Qiang's jacket. Surely, he would have been able to afford his own jacket and the weather here was warm. If he had needed it because he had forgotten his own, then he must have borrowed it in the Earth Kingdom, which means he had kept it for quite a while.

They headed towards Azula's chambers. It was inside the room that Qiu told her superior that she thought Qiang and Lu Ten had been lovers. "Neither of them ever dated girls from what I can tell. They wrote to each other often when they weren't serving. The letters go back five years and whenever Qiang would get home from serving, he'd be here for like the first week and then he'd almost disappear.

We never knew where he went, and it wasn't until I was sorting his effects that I found the letters. They weren't explicit, but they suggested that they were more than just friends."

Azula really didn't know Lu Ten well enough to confirm or refute his orientation. "If he had been gay, he wouldn't have been able to tell anyone here. Azulon would have disowned him if not killed him, and I'm not sure how Iroh would have reacted either, but he was different before Lu Ten died. He was sterner. I don't think he would have approved."

If they had been together, it would have been a whole different reason to give Qiang's father the watch. He would have wanted his lover's family to get the help they needed quickly instead of waiting until after he went home to send them money.

"I think we should keep this under our hats," Azula said. If Lu Ten couldn't tell his father while he was alive, Azula wasn't going to tell him now. Someday, they'd meet on the other side.

She had always wondered if her cousin had been lonely, dying so young, never finding love, but maybe he wasn't alone all this time. Maybe he had someone with him who fully understood him. Maybe he died during the siege, so he could join Qiang again. It was a bittersweet idea.

Azula knew she would never look at the jacket the same way again.

Katara had her mother's betrothal necklace in her hand. She stopped wearing it daily when she got married. She held onto the necklace, hoping that either her child or grandchild would give it to someone that he or she loved.

Sokka had made Suki a necklace. Katara was glad that he didn't ask for this one. She would have given it to him as it was a family heirloom and not just hers, but she wasn't ready to part with it yet.

Someday, though, she would be. She put the necklace back in her jewelry box and put it away.

**February 108AG**

Iroh was back in Ba Sing Se. He wished he had forgotten about that stupid watch. All it got him doing was thinking about Lu Ten's death and his own guilt. He realized how silly it was to be mad at Lu Ten for giving the watch away. It wasn't an insult. It was just he kind of person his son had been.

His son's selflessness, reminded Iroh of his own selfishness. Lu Ten was worried about the siege. They had breached the outer wall, but the Earth Kingdom responded with a new wave of fighters. What looked like it was a sure victory for the Fire Nation was becoming more and more suspect every day. Lu Ten was growing skeptical of the war, and he told his father as much. Iroh dismissed him. He said the sacrifices these men were making would all be worth it when they captured the city.

Iroh made the choice to forge ahead, knowing he was costing fathers their sons, but he didn't care. He was going to make his own father proud and his son was going to be right beside him. When he lost his son, he realized just how cruel he had been. Karma was a bitch and it slapped him right in the face.

Lu Ten had never forgotten about the people who died, his gift to Qiang's family showed as much. Iroh was ashamed that his son had remembered what he and his father had both forgotten. The Crown is supposed to govern for the interests of the people. The war had become about the Crown feeding its own ego, showing its own power, not about the citizens.

It was shameful to think that once Iroh had been greedy like Ozai had been greedy. He never wanted to think of himself as the same as his brother. He changed. He became better. Ozai only became worse. Iroh had to focus on the distinctions, so he could try to forget the similarities.

Iroh forgot about the people who died under him not once, but three times. During the siege, he forgot about them right after they died, no longer writing the condolences letters that he would right families earlier in the war. He was too focused on winning.

He forgot about them again when he had lost his own son, finally empathizing because he could feel their pain. He told himself by ending the siege he was preventing future pain and he believed that, but he still didn't remember to reach out to those who had already lost their sons. He remembered the burden that their families bore, as it was the same as his own burden, but he forgot about them as individual people. He forgot that he owed their families some gratitude.

Finally, he forgot about them again when he insisted Qiu give the watch back. The story she told didn't reach him the way that it should have. Her brother died under Iroh's command because of Iroh's selfishness. He forgot all about Qiang, not remembering him when he died, not remembering him when his son died, and when he learned that Lu Ten had given his family the recognition that he had failed to deliver, Iroh asked for the recognition back. He was insulted when she refused to give it.

He was disappointed in himself, but he didn't really understand how his actions had come across to other people. He never apologized to Qiu for his behavior. He just went home. When he wanted to forget all about it, he just smoked opium, letting it all disappear from his mind.

Iroh may have been able to make himself forget for the fourth time, but Qiu never forgot for a second. The watch served as a daily reminder, of what her brother had given, of what Lu Ten gave back and that when you care about someone, you give whatever you can, no matter what the circumstances are. She would give everything for those who mattered most. She would never forget.


	29. Chapter 29

**April 108AG**

King Bumi's death was sudden. He was 116, so it wasn't too surprising when he died, but it was surprising that he died. He was still running the country with a (relatively) sound mind.

He had no family. The only son he had died of illness before producing an heir. Somehow in all of his years, falling in love and starting a family had never happened for him. The woman who had bore him the sun was just a page. He never even married her because she dropped the baby off with him and ran. Many didn't even think the late Prince had been Bumi's at all. Bumi himself wasn't sure, but he thought it was the only son he'd ever get so he took it. The man had been right.

He got a royal sendoff in Omashu.

* * *

Aang had come with his wife. He was Bumi's "oldest" friend and was giving the eulogy. The members of the White Lotus were also in attendance as was Team Avatar and the other sovereigns.

Azula felt kind of awkward going to his funeral. She hardly knew the man, but it would have been a slight for her not to go, especially given her political activity in the country. She didn't, however, see a reason for her daughter to go. She didn't even understand the concept of death, so she left Kya in the care of their nursing staff.

She wore a black dress, as that was the color of mourning everywhere except the Fire Nation, where the color depended on whom was being mourned. One wore white if it was a peasant who died, black if it was a noble and red if it was a royal. The colors confused most outsiders.

The peasants were deemed innocent as they followed orders instead of making decisions. The black was both a status symbol, as black was a national color, and an insult in a way, suggesting that their hands were dirty in politics unlike the more pure peasants and the red was both a national color and a symbol of blood, the people bleed for their lost prince or princess.

She held Katara's hand. The waterbender had been fond of Bumi even though she had not spoken to him much recently. He withdrew from the public sphere somewhat in the last couple of years. Poor man was probably exhausted at his age, even if he hadn't shown it.

Zuko was with Mai, Haru with Toph, Sokka with Suki, they were all there admiring all that Bumi had done with his life and hoping that they and their children would become apart of the same legacy.

* * *

Azula was hoping that no one was staring at her. She thought everyone was thinking oh that's the girl who started a fight instead of just freeing Bumi and attacked the avatar instead of trying to rescue Tom Tom.

Maybe she was being foolish. Maybe this was what they were thinking. She held her tongue, not offering any side comments on how this Earth Sage has been rambling for five minutes. Katara knows her wife is lost in thought now. She's never this compliant.

Once he was finally done, Aang gave his eulogy, recounting memories of playing with Bumi and Kuzon as little boys, before the war started and before he knew he was the avatar, when he was only Aang.

He admired his friend for fighting in his absence and was sorry that he wasn't there when he should have been, that he had no idea what happened to Kuzon and that their trio had been broken.

He was glad to have found Bumi again after so long, somewhat troubled that his once younger friend became his much older friend, but was grateful for all of the wisdom that Bumi gave him.

His last words were that, "Bumi hated funerals. More importantly, he hated mourning people. Instead of crying because people die, which happens every day, we should celebrate the way they lived. He would want us to throw a big party right now, and he'd probably laugh if you danced on his grave.

To Bumi who was my awesome friend before he became a more awesome King!"

They did have a party that night although it was more boring that Bumi would have liked. Unlike the raucous affair that the End of the War parties, this event was more somber, no hard liquor, limited beer and wine, and the music was more on the depressing side.

**August 108AG**

Unlike Bumi's death, Pakku's death was prolonged. Azula thought this was worse. The man had suffered for months. He first got sick in May. He thought it was just a cold, but by the time it was June, they knew he was in trouble.

Normally, Azula and Katara stayed from August until around November. Instead, they came in June once they got a letter from Gran Gran.

"Let me see what I can do," she said as she came to him with her herbal remedies and healing talents.

Unfortunately, there was not much for her to do. His lungs were failing. Each breath became harder to take. He was almost 90, and he may have been on borrowed time.

Katara realized all she could do was keep him as comfortable as possible. When she had to tell her Gran Gran that Pakku's time was fast approaching, she didn't react at first. Eventually she asked for some time alone where she sobbed.

* * *

When she lost her first husband, the Chief, she had never known a grief so great. When Hakoda lost Kya, she felt even worse as now her son knew her pain, and her grandchildren lost their childhoods.

After that, she thought she would be the next to go. She was old, she had a good life, but a little more than eight years ago, Pakku finally came after her. Her years with him helped mitigate some of her earlier emotional scars and with him on his way to the other side, she felt like they had all reopened.

Katara and Azula could see her heart slowly breaking. They both knew she was the type to grieve privately. Instead of trying to talk to her about it, they would do what they could so she could spend as much time with Pakku as possible. They took care of her chores, and Katara had to help more with the whale hunt as Pakku had done most of the work the year before.

Azula sent letters to his closest friends, letting them know that he was dying. She didn't want Kanna to have to do it. It was hard enough to say out loud, but to write it a dozen times, just sounded cruel.

* * *

Chief Arnook was one of the first to come and offer his condolences. Aang and Ty Lee came soon afterwards.

Sokka couldn't get there until July, but he and Suki stayed for three weeks, using as many vacation days as he could take in a row.

The White Lotus came one at a time, but their visits all overlapped. Four months later and another one of them was leaving. Iroh couldn't believe this stage of his life had come already.

"I wish I had come here more after the war," Iroh said. He had only come a handful of times.

"I could say the same about Ba Sing Se. Make good use of the rest of your years Iroh!"

* * *

Leading up to his death, every family in the tribe paid respects to him. Katara wanted everyone who wanted to say goodbye to get a chance, but she wanted the last few days to be Gran Gran's. It was late July when the neighbors started to visit.

It was the second week in August when he died. "I'm proud of you," he said to his wife, "for having been an amazing woman who raised a wonderful family. They became my family, and these past eight years were the best I ever had." She kissed him goodbye. He died in the night.

He was buried at sea, getting a proper Southern Water Tribe hero's sendoff. A few weeks after he died, Azula and Katara had to get back to the Fire Nation. They had invited Gran Gran to come with them, in case she needed some time out of her home.

She had respectfully declined, but then she changed her mind. "When I got to sleep, I keep expecting him to be there when I wake up. I haven't felt that pain in so long; I forgot how much it burned."

She stayed in the Fire Nation until late September.

"When are you going to give Kya a sibling?" Gran Gran asked Azula.

"I'm not sure. We had been talking about it in May, but we didn't really come to an agreement." They both liked the idea of a second child, but Katara thought Azula should carry it and she was not sure if she could take the time off work right now.

"Don't waste time. You'll run out of it if you're wasteful."

You'll run out of it, even if you're not.

**April 109AG**

"THIS IS FUCKING HORRIBLE!" Ty Lee screamed. In mere hours, she would have her and Aang's first child.

"I'm sorry," he said as he held her hand.

She squeezed it, very hard.

"Um I can't feel my hand."

"I wish I couldn't feel my body being split open!"

* * *

Katara came to be a midwife. It was hard enough to deal with Ty Lee in labor, but on top of it Azula was pregnant. They did the ceremony with the Life Spirit, like last time, but this time, their baby picked Azula as the mother, which neither of them had expected.

She was due in a few months and she was tired, cranky and not adjusting well to the fire kicks.

"I swear our baby is tying to kill me. I'm having her arrested for treason once she's born."

She had been yelling ridiculous threats for the past two weeks.

* * *

Toph and Haru who were still engaged (they had been for like two years) came to welcome Aang into fatherhood, i.e. "You're going to be boring as shit now Twinkle Toes!"

"Hey, Katara and I are still awesome!" Azula insisted. "Curse this stupid baby!"

"Princess, you sound miserable."

"Why on Earth did this baby want me for a mother? Clearly, she must be stupid."

Toph was cracking up.

"Maybe it's because you're having a firebender and you are a firebender," Haru told her.

Azula threw fire at him for his annoying logic.

"No throwing fire near the delivery room," Katara yelled.

"Sugar Queen's going to give out citations," Toph teased.

* * *

The acolytes were there to assist Katara as needed. Ling was there to mostly make snide remarks and get water thrown at him by Katara

After another four hours of belligerent yelling, baby Bumi was born.

"He looks like Ty Lee," Aang told Toph.

"Then he's lucky."

Aang was no longer the last airbender. Twinkle Toes Jr. was a real thing now.

"Maybe your daughter and my son can date," Ty Lee suggested to Azula.

"No way! If your son is anything like you, he's gonna be a player, and my daughter's not going to be where he sows his wild oats!"

Ty Lee folded her arms.

"My baby will be a princess and will be properly courted, not lured with charming ways and baby soft hair. I will chase boys like your son away with fire."

Katara shook her head.

* * *

Over the next week, all of Ty Lee's sisters managed to show up at some point, all clamoring that their nephew was the next airbender. In addition, Sokka and Suki, Zuko and Mai, Teo and Jie all came to visit.

He kept his son in the temple for now, knowing he would get a lot of press once he was out in public. For now, he just wanted his son to be able to live like a normal baby.

**July 109AG**

Azula and Katara had been walking in the garden when Azula felt this strange wet feeling.

"How do you know when your water broke?"

"You feel like you wet yourself even though you didn't."

"My water broke."

"Let's get you inside."

The royal doctor did this delivery, so Katara wouldn't have to be both midwife and wife support.

Kya was excited to get a little sister to play with. "When are you and Uncle Zuzu going to have kids?" she asked her aunt Mai.

"Um, maybe next year sweetheart."

"COOL!"

She only said maybe.

* * *

Azula had a high threshold for pain when it was supposed to be torture. She found it a game to hold out on talking to the enemy. Childbirth is just horrid. Why is this a thing? Why can't humans just lay eggs like Xiao Long had? She hardly acted like it was painful. She only got annoyed when Azula asked if this egg now meant that she and Kip were a couple or was she still in denial?

Dragon eggs took some time to hatch, so who knows when her baby will be ready to come out.

Azula, however, was hoping her own baby would, "GET OUT OF ME BEFORE I ARREST HER FOR TRESPASS!"

The doctor tried not to laugh, but her ranting was hilarious.

"You can't arrest a baby," Katara told her.

"You're under arrest for getting me pregnant!"

Katara wiped off her forehead. Her wife was too silly.

The royal doctor didn't flinch, not when Azula cursed him out and not when she threw fireballs at him. Katara put them out, but the doctor only said, "Ursa was even worse when she went into labor. She actually did set fire to the birthing room when Zuko was born."

"It wasn't my fault," Ursa insisted. "They shouldn't have had those dried out plants in there. They were a fire hazard."

She had come for the birth of her second grandbaby along with her daughter, who was almost a teenager now and her husband.

Kya was happy to see her grandma.

"Oh how's my pretty little princess!"

* * *

Two hours after Ursa arrived, Princess Lilo was born. Azula named her younger daughter after Lo and Li. They had passed on two months before. They died minutes apart. She couldn't pick only one of them to name her daughter after, so she named her Lilo.

She had gold eyes like Azula and lighter skin but Katara's hair and ears. She was the opposite of Kya, yet you could tell they were siblings. Kya sat on Katara's lap, so she could have help while she held her baby sister. "We're going to play and prank uncle Zuzu together."

"No you will not!" Zuko chided.

The others all laughed at him.

"That's my girl," Azula said as she kissed her older daughter.

**September 112AG**

A lot happened over the next three years. Sokka and Suki had Yue in April of 110AG. Gran Gran passed away in August of the same year. Toph and Haru finally got married in April 111AG. Jie and Teo got married in October of the same year. Zuko and Mai finally had a baby of their own; Crown Princess Izumi was born in June of 112AG.

Kya had already discovered her waterbending. Katara thought she was young for formal lessons, but she kept freezing everything, so she ended up having to teach her some methods of control.

Lilo had discovered her heatbending, but she did not have the drive needed to make her own flame. She could, however, carry her mothers and she liked running around chasing Kya yelling jumbled one-liners about she was going to conquer Ba Sing Se.

Azula and Mai thought it was hilarious. Katara and Zuko thought it was dangerous. The best, however, was when Bumi came to visit. Lilo would yell "kill the Avatar" and chase him around.

Ty Lee thought it was typical that Azula and Mai laughed while she tried to keep the peace.

"Oh, Ty Lee is trying to get all the kids to play nice. Isn't that cute?" Azula asked mockingly.

"FUCK YOU!" Ty Lee yelled at her.

"What's fuck mean?" Bumi asked immediately.

"YES!" Azula and Mai high fived each other. This was the best.

Ty Lee just groaned and walked away. Bumi kept asking for the rest of the day.

"I wonder if we were this much fun as kids," Azula asked her.

* * *

While the men dealt with politics, the women were watching their children, or in Azula's and Mai's case, editorializing the children's ridiculous conduct while Ty Lee supervised the children.

Ursa II was napping and Yue was trying to keep up with Lilo.

Suki and Katara were chatting away about the tribe. Sokka and Suki were undecided about when they should move to the tribe. Hakoda seemed perfectly capable of running the tribe while Sokka worked on Republic City, but Sokka was now competing for jobs with men who wanted to make their whole career about Republic City.

Although Sokka enjoyed working on the Council, he knew that he would eventually leave it behind to take command of the tribe, and he wondered if he should stay on the Council when he is effectively taking the spot from someone who would be prepared to see the city through.

Zuko, Aang and Sokka were trying to work out a new trade agreement for the three nations they represented. The Air Nation had a bigger stake in the trade now that all four of its temples had people living in it. Jie's brothers and their wives had moved to the Western and Eastern Air Temples.

There were still some refugees in the Northern Air Temple and Aang's family was in the Southern Air Temple. There were acolytes in the Northern and Southern temples. Since the airbenders were more spread out, they would have to pay more in shipping costs than if they had all shared one temple. This meant Aang had to pay careful attention to each part of the agreement to make sure he was getting the best deal for his money.

To make it even more complicated, there was a dispute involving the Air Nation and United Republic.

* * *

The Council thought that the airbenders in the region should be paying taxes as they lived in United Republic and they were arguing that they didn't owe the country anything. Since they had been in hiding for so long, they made their own roads, grew, foraged and traded for food, built their own structures, etc.

They got no benefits such as public assistance, disaster relief, a police force, etc. They saw no reason to pay taxes when their location was too remote for any of the states resources to get to them anyway. If they needed something from the city, then they flew there and bought it, paid sales tax on whatever goods they got. They figured that was about as much as they owed.

Their refusal to pay was obviously impacting international relations between the Air Nation and United Republic. Sokka understood the Air Nation's point, but he represented a nation that needed every coin it could get.

It was unclear what exactly would happen if the airbenders didn't back down, but the council suggested sanctioning the Air Nation, which could cause a trade war. Zuko was trying to avoid that as were his friends.

* * *

This entire discussion, however, came to a halt when Zuko got a letter. "It's marked urgent my Lord," the servant handed it to him.

It was from Jun,

Dear Zuko,

I am writing to you because your uncle Iroh is too unwell to write this letter himself. I don't know if he is dying, even his doctors are unsure, but he suddenly became quite ill and at his age, you have to anticipate the worst.

He's currently at the hospice, and I thought you would like to visit him and perhaps have the royal doctor come and take a look.

I hope this letter reaches you quickly, and I'm sorry about your uncle.

Best,

June

* * *

Zuko froze. How could this be? His uncle was fine when he was here for Izumi's birth last month.

"Zuko?" Aang questioned.

"I need to find Mai."

Sokka read the letter. "Iroh's dying?"

"WHAT?"

The adults were panicking and the children were confused. Mai tried to get everyone to calm down but it was total hysteria.

Eventually, she just yelled out, "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"

They all stopped and looked at her. "Look, I love Iroh as much as all of you do, but we don't know what's happening and all of us freaking out together is not helping. We need to get the royal doctor so he can check on him, arrange the doctor's transportation so we can get help quickly, make sure we have our children properly stowed away, and then make our way to visit.

Let's keep it orderly people."

Kip was the fastest flyer, followed by Xiao Long and Appa. Since time was of the essence, the royal doctor and Katara took off right away on Kip. Zuko and Mai took off on Xiao Long and Aang took Sokka and Suki on Appa. Ty Lee and the staff got kid duty and the princess was running the Fire Nation in her brother's absence. Zuko would send word once he knew what was actually happening.

* * *

By the time Zuko realized he had forgotten to contact his mother, he had already left. "I'll have to write to her once we get there."

"Don't panic now," Mai held him. "We need to stay positive." Mai was already stressed out that they left their one-month year old at home. She knew Ty Lee would take good care of her, but her baby had always been nursed. What if she wouldn't eat her formula?

Kip landed in front of the hospital, holding up traffic and angering the police force.

_Well, they're gonna have to wait!_

The doctor and Katara slid off his back and rushed to see Iroh.

The man was in good spirits given the circumstances. He had been suffering from dizziness and then vomiting. When it didn't go away after the first day, Jun made him go to the hospital.

"Have the doctors given you a diagnosis?"

"Not yet," Iroh said before he sneezed.

Katara was sad to see him looking so weak. Would he be next? It reminded her of when she watched her Gran Gran's final days. The memory was a dreadful one. Katara spent much of her time crying and when she wasn't crying, she could feel her anxiety coming back. Azula had kept her together the whole time. It sucked not having her now.

* * *

When the Prince's physician came back, he said, "according to our tests, Iroh has a liver problems. He will need a new diet and to cut back on alcohol. He should probably abstain."

The doctors discussed the results in more detail. Katara wondered if she should live by himself at this point. It takes a while to get to him. What if something happens?

Katara prepared an herbal remedy for Iroh and all she could do was wait and see if he felt any better.

A couple hours after they arrived, Xiao Long arrived with Zuko and Mai, again annoying the police by parking in front of the hospital.

"Zuko, Mai, you're here," Iroh was happy to see them.

"What's wrong?" Zuko questioned as he hugged him.

"Apparently, my liver sucks, but I'm sure a better diet and exercise should help."

"Hopefully, it's enough," Mai said. "Have they talked to you about any medication?"

"No, but if there is something, I'm sure the royal doctor will find it."

* * *

When Aang and the others arrived, Katara decided she needed a break and went to get some fresh air. The hospital room was small anyway, so they couldn't fit everyone in it comfortably.

Katara wished her wife were here. It was almost 10 years since Yakone had attacked her, and she still hated hospitals. For her, they just were a big shiny place where you got terrible news.

Jun came by to see how Iroh was doing and was glad to see that his family and friends had arrived to see him.

"Did the doctor say if he'd make it?"

Katara wasn't sure how to answer that. "The doctor hasn't said that he won't make it, but he's going to have to make some lifestyle choices if he wants to save his liver."

"Was it alcohol?"

"I don't know. I never knew him to be a drinker."

"Neither did I, but many military men drink alone."

Katara's hands started to shake.

"Are you okay?"

"I really hate hospitals."

"Let's get some juice or something, anything that's out of this building.

* * *

Azula was unsure of what she was doing right now as acting Fire Lord. Zuko had been negotiating a trade agreement, but he left with the people with whom he had been negotiating, so Azula didn't know what she could do by herself. She instead punted on it and focused more on internal policy, making necessary adjustments to tax law and inheritance law to close loopholes and avoid expensive lawsuits.

Ty Lee had the babies. Umi had come with Xingyun and was helping with Kya and Lilo.

"When's mom coming home?" Kya asked Umi.

"I don't know. She's trying to help your uncle Iroh. He's sick."

"When I get sick, mommy gives me soup."

She was so cute.

"Can we make Iroh soup?"

"He's far away honey, but I bet someone can make him soup where he is."

Lilo didn't really remember her uncle. She tended to follow Azula around, and since Azula avoided him like the plague, Lilo rarely ever saw him.

* * *

When they had dinner, Umi asked if they were going to go visit him.

"It depends on what the doctor says," Ty Lee told her. "He might not be that sick. No one knew."

"Why didn't anyone else stay back?" Umi asked Azula. "He's your uncle."

"I never cared for him," Azula said honestly.

"Azula! He might die," Ty Lee chastised.

"It won't make me magically like him."

"If you were dying, wouldn't you want him to come?"

"No. I'd rather have the people that matter to me there, not waste time with people who were just pretending."

Ty Lee didn't ask her anything else on the subject.

* * *

The next day, they got a letter from Zuko saying they were taking him to a specialist in Republic City. Zuko and Mai were going with the royal doctor while the rest were coming back to the palace to gather their children and return home. The trade negotiations would have to resume at a later date.

Several hours later, Aang, Sokka, Suki and Katara were back at the palace. Azula was glad to have her wife back, "I missed you."

"I missed you and my girls. How are they doing?"

"They're fine. I just told them Iroh was sick. I didn't relay the more serious details."

Kya asked her mother if they had gotten Iroh some soup.

"I'm sure he has all the soup he needs." Katara scooped up her little girl. "How about you tell me what you were doing while I was gone?"

* * *

Aang and Ty Lee were flying out in the morning. Appa needed to rest. Sokka and Suki were going to have to go back to Republic City tomorrow as well. Sokka would have to explain why the negotiation failed, and Azula would have to keep working until Zuko came back.

It took him four more days to get back. Azula didn't comment, but she thought checking him in should have taken one day and maybe wait another day to make sure he doesn't croak on the spot, but Zuzu would stay away as long as someone else was there to do his job for him. Azula wanted to get back to her wife and kids. She didn't want to think about this anymore.

When Zuko did come back, he had a bunch of information on Iroh's prognosis. They were going to try and get him better with a better diet and exercise and if that didn't work they would try medication and if that didn't work they would consider surgery.

* * *

At his age, they didn't think surgery was the best place to start since it would be harder for him to recover than a younger person. Medication would be hard for his body to absorb properly since his liver was malfunctioning, so they thought naturally improving his liver, if possible, was the best option.

Azula only said, "I'm sure the doctors know best."

She didn't talk about it with anyone.

"I thought she'd have more to say. She always has something to say."

"You know Azula likes to deal with things on her own. She hates talking about her feelings."

"There is that."

The hospice wasn't so bad. It was better than a typical hospital. It was more like a resort for old people, which was kind of depressing, but he could get his own meals in the cafeteria, had a place to exercise, and there was a lounge where people played pai sho. Of course, there was no booze and there weren't any opiates. He would have to get used to sobriety.

* * *

After a few days, he started to have trouble sleeping. He kept having lucid dreams about his son's death and he would wake up screaming. The doctors had no idea what were causing his night terrors at first. They thought it might be PTSD from the war and they sent in Dr. Sing.

The doctor came in a few days, but when he started to survey Iroh about his past, he found it odd that the man was all of the sudden getting flashbacks of his son's death when he had died 17 years before. Sometimes PTSD didn't manifest for years after the event, but it was usually apparent within 10 years, 17 were unusual.

"Would you say that you are a prolific drinker?"

"I can't say that. I mean I do throw them down at parties, but usually like once a year."

"Do you partake in any other substances?"

Iroh grunted. "Sometimes, I smoke a little opium when I'm in pain," or when I'm bored, or when I want to forget.

"How much would you say is a little?" Dr. Sing suspected that Iroh was suffering from withdrawals due to opium addiction. Like many people, he used a little bit over a long time, but when he started increasing his dosage to try and get the same affect, he became addicted without even knowing it.

Any treatment for Iroh's liver would only be effective if he quit using opiates. His earlier blood samples were retested for opium use and came up positive.

They suggested Iroh try outpatient care for drug rehabilitation. He couldn't believe, however that he was an addict. Isn't that for poor people and street dwellers? He never robbed anyone for it, got violent on it or showed any other disturbing behavior. So what if he used it from time to time? Lots of people do and they aren't addicts.

* * *

AN: I know I'm going through time quickly. I'm going to revisit some of these events in greater detail later on.


	30. Chapter 30

**October 112AG**

When Zuko learned from his uncle Iroh that he had left returned to Ba Sing Se, he believed it was because his uncle had gotten the help he needed and was able to better care for his liver now. Unfortunately, things took a turn for a worse, and Iroh collapsed in his shop.

Zuko had been informed right away. He ran to get Mai. "It's Iroh. He collapsed at work. His liver apparently is even worse than before."

Mai quickly wrote letters to everyone while Zuko made arrangements for them to go see Iroh before he passed.

Zuko was trying to figure out who could run the country with he, Mai and Azula going to visit the ill Prince.

Azula, however, had no intentions of leaving the palace.

"You need to pack," Katara told her.

"Pack for what?"

"Ba Sing Se!"

"Why would I go?"

"Your uncle is dying."

"Allegedly, knowing him he's not."

"What?"

"I have no reason to visit him."

"You can't be serious. He's family."

"He's never been family to me. I've only ever been an afterthought to him. It would be meaningless to try and change it now. Every man magically cares when he's about to die."

"You don't want to say goodbye."

"Honestly, I've had nothing to say to him in well over a decade."

Katara knew things weren't very good with Azula and her uncle but she couldn't believe her wife was being so cold.

She tried to get Azula to go, but her wife would not change her mind.

"I can't believe you. How can you be so heartless?"

Katara regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, but it was too late. Azula left and Katara didn't see her again before she left for Ba Sing Se.

* * *

Mai was taking Izumi this time. She would need to take a sky ship. Zuko would be taking Kip, so he could get there as quickly as possible. Mai would be taking two guards with her for protection.

"Since Lilo and Kya were too young to fly on the dragons all the way there, they could go with Katara and Mai, leaving Azula to take Xing Long."

Mai went over the plan only to hear Azula say, "I'm not going."

"What do you mean you're not going? He's probably going to die."

"I know what death is. How do I put this kindly? I don't wish to see him again."

"You can't be serious. This isn't the time to be petty and vindictive."

"How am I being vindictive? It's not like he wants me there anyway. He's never wanted me around when he was alive. Why would he want me around when he's got days to live?"

Azula saw no reason to pretend for anyone's benefit. She didn't think anything would be gained by her going. What was she going to do, cry fake tears, lament about how all the good times they never had would cease?"

There were people who loved him. There were people who would miss him. Those people should spend Iroh's last minutes with him. Azula didn't find herself in either category. She didn't see any reason to go.

Lilo didn't want to go either. "I want to stay with mom."

"What about your uncle?" Katara asked him.

The little girl didn't answer. She just ran to find Azula.

"What are you doing here little sprout?"

"If you're staying, I'm staying."

* * *

Zuko had already left on Kip. If Lilo were going to go with the others, she would have to get ready soon.

"You don't have to worry about leaving me alone. I'll be fine in the palace."

Lilo clutched her mother's leg.

Kya on the other hand, got ready to leave with Katara and Aunt Mai.

"I can't believe she's not coming," Mai said as they got into the carriage.

Katara believed it, but she wished her wife had gone, if not Iroh than for her. She needs Azula right now. Can't she see that?

Sokka and Suki were the closest to Iroh, so they were the first to get there.

"Sokka, Suki," Iroh hacked up a good cough. "You made it for this old man."

"Of course we did," Sokka said to him.

Suki had left Yue with a sitter. "We came as fast as we could. The others are on their way."

Zuko was next to arrive. "Mai and the rest of the family are coming on a sky ship. The girls are too young to fly on the dragons."

Toph and Haru came from Omashu.

"Gramps!" Toph punched his arm as her sign of affection.

Haru saluted the former general.

Aang and Ty Lee got there with Bumi. It wasn't until Mai and Katara got there that they realized someone was missing.

"Where's Azula?" Aang questioned.

"She refused to come," Katara said bitterly, before Mai could try to make something up.

Mai glared at her.

"What? Were you gonna lie about it?"

"I can't say I'm surprised," Iroh said. He really hadn't given her any reason to visit him at all. Their relationship had never been much of anything and that was in the best of times. It would have been nice if she had come, but it's not like he could have demanded it of her.

Zuko handed Iroh Izumi wanting to keep Iroh's mind off their family drama.

They all stayed until they got kicked out of the hospital. Even the Avatar and friends can only stay past visiting hours for so long. They all went to the Jasmine Dragon, so they could sit together and talk.

Each of them told his or her favorite Iroh story. Zuko's was from when they were travelling through the Earth Kingdom together. Toph's was when Iroh had given her advice during the war. Each of them had a warm and fuzzy Iroh moment. It wasn't until it was Sokka's turn that he said, "where's Lilo?"

"She wouldn't come without Azula," Katara told him.

"She didn't want to see her uncle?" Aang asked.

"I asked her about it, and she just left the room."

"She is Azula junior," Mai said dryly.

Back at the palace, it was just Azula and Lilo, other than the guards and servants.

* * *

The acting Fire Lord was tired. She hadn't actually done any work on the crown. It was Zuko's job. He could get to it when he got back. She hated it, however, when she fought with her wife. These times were rare but they were always so explosive, yelling for hours, not talking for days, until they collapsed in each other's arms, fucked each other wildly and then promised not to fight again.

It would be a lie if Azula didn't feel bitter about the whole thing. How could Katara call her heartless after all of the things she saw her through? She was there for her when Katara got violently attacked by a psychopath. She was there when she ended up getting PTSD, when she got sued, when Hei Won tried to kill her, when they got and gave up Xingyun, when they had their daughters.

If all of these moments didn't tell Katara that Azula was madly in love with her, what would? Azula didn't get it. Katara's seen Azula's relationship with her uncle over the past nine years. None of it has been good. What would she have to say to him at this point? Why would she owe that man a thing? She felt a pit in her stomach. She was without her wife. Her two daughters were separated. Man, Iroh manages to fuck up everything, even when he is about to die.

Lilo knew she wanted to be like her mama. Her mom was strong. Her mom was brave. Her mom looked tough when she went to work, but she always gave goodnight kisses and read bedtime stories.

* * *

Ursa and her daughter made it to the hospital the next day. Kiyi had only seen her "uncle" a handful of times, but her mother was upset, so she went with her.

When they got to the hospital, everyone was there except "Where's Azula?"

"The bathroom," Sokka lied.

Suki smacked his head. "You idiot."

"Well, yesterday, Katara goofed before we could lie."

"What?" Ursa questioned.

"Azula refused to come," Mai said quietly.

"She what?" He's her uncle. How could she not come to say goodbye?

Kiyi didn't blame her for skipping out. Waiting around to see if a man dies is miserable, no matter whom he is.

* * *

Eventually, the doctor came in with some test results. "Did you want to hear this privately or?"

"You can say it in front of them."

"Your liver is damaged from years of opiate abuse. If you don't quit for good, this will kill you."

"What?" Zuko exclaimed. "That can't be."

"We tested two different vials and it's consistent with the earlier lab work."

"What?"

"They suggested rehabilitation months ago," Iroh admitted. "I didn't think I had a problem. I thought I could handle it. I was wrong."

* * *

Everyone in the room was shocked. How could Uncle Iroh be addicted to drugs? Everyone thought drug addicts were in prison or wasting away on the streets, not showing up to holiday dinners with laughs and stories.

"I think you should consider coming home for treatment," Zuko said. "This is too big of a fight for you to do by yourself."

Iroh knew he had failed on his own, so he agreed, once the doctors cleared him for travel.

Katara needed to get some air. She couldn't handle being in this tiny room anymore.

She went outside. Sokka went after her.

"You look like you're about to throw up."

"I just really hate hospitals. I have, well ever since …"

"Oh shit! I didn't even think to ask. If you need to go home …"

Katara sighed. "Azula and I got into a fight. I doubt she wants to see me right now."

"What happened?"

"I took it personally when Azula refused to come, and I know I shouldn't have. It has nothing to do with me, but I said some things I shouldn't have, and she got mad and walked out. We didn't talk again before I left."

"Why were you so upset?"

"I barely held it together the last time I was in the hospital. She was at home because she had to work. I needed her here, and this time she wouldn't come."

"She wouldn't even come for you?"

"I didn't exactly ask her to."

"But she knew you struggled the last time you were here. She should have come anyway."

"I didn't tell her."

"Why not."

"I was just glad to be with her again. I didn't mention how I had gotten pretty close to freaking out. She's been my rock for so long. It just really hurts not having her here."

Sokka hugged her. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Umi and Qiu took Lilo for the day. Azula needed a break. She wished she hadn't gotten rid of her weed. She and Katara agreed to quit when they became parents. It seemed like a bad idea to not be at 100% with infants. If the anxiety came back, they would talk to Dr. Sing about alternative treatment possibilities, but it hadn't come to that, until now.

Again, Azula found herself all alone. Over 12 years later, Azula sometimes felt like the same girl that broke down during Sozin's Comet.

Having nowhere else to go, she went to the only family she had in the country.

She hadn't seen her father since before he left to burn down the Earth Kingdom. Time had not treated him well.

"Hello father."

He looked up. Her voice had changed overtime. She sounded tired and weary. "And I thought you'd never come here."

"I wasn't sure if I should. I can't say that I'm any more sure than I was any of the other times I almost came here."

"Yet you're here. Why?"

"I'm all alone again."

"Didn't you marry that peasant and have two witch doctor babies?"

"We went to the life spirit, not a witch doctor."

"Making babies without a man involves a witch doctor."

Azula rolled her eyes. "My daughters are perfect."

"You can't make a son without a man can you."

"Having a son didn't bode so well for you."

"Burn," he said coldly. "So, what has you so upset that you came here to see a man you all but forgot about?"

Azula explained the fight she had gotten in with her wife. "I don't think I did anything wrong, but I feel terrible. I don't like being on the opposite side of my wife, no matter what the reason."

"See, that's why love makes you weak. It gives you this notion that you'd rather be with her than be right."

"What's the point of being right if you have no one to share your victory with?"

"You tell me."

Azula left. Umi and Qiu brought Lilo back to the palace.

"Do you want to go get your mom and sister?"

"Yeah!"

Azula figured Katara would kill her for this, but she'd understand, eventually. She got Lilo on Xiao Long and they flew through the evening and the night to get to Ba Sing Se by morning.

Xiao Long landed on the roof this time, there was nowhere to land on the street and Azula took her daughter down the ladder into the hospital.

"What are you doing?" A doctor questioned.

"Emergency landing?"

Azula grabbed Lilo and ran before the doctor could get security.

As she was bounding down the halls, Lilo heard, "Uncle Sokka!"

Azula followed his voice into the room and Lilo ran to hug her mother.

"How did you?"

Everyone turned when Azula came inside. "Did you know if you come into a hospital through the roof, they call security on you?"

* * *

Just then, they saw guards running down the hall looking for Azula.

"Oops!"

"How did you get here so fast?" Katara questioned.

"Well, we flew on Xiao Long."

"You took our three year old on a dragon!"

"I didn't get to fly on a dragon," Kya complained.

"Lilo could have fallen!"

"She didn't. She sat still like I told her to. It's Kya that has ants in her pants. She can't even sit still in that chair." The girl was bouncing in her chair.

Kya pouted. Lilo mimicked her.

"I can't believe you came," Iroh said to her.

"I'd rather be with Katara than be right."

Katara hugged her wife tightly. "I'm sorry, about everything," she whispered.

"Me too."

"Can we get out of here for a minute?"

"Let's do it."

Lilo tried to follow her mothers, but Uncle Sokka picked her up. "I think they need alone time."

"I needed you here," Katara said. "I just hate hospitals, and when I'm dreading something, you've always been my rock. You were there holding me when we lost Pakku and Gran Gran, and I couldn't bare the thought of losing someone else without you being here with me. I know I should have told you."

"I should have known."

Azula gave her wife a loving kiss.

"I won't let you leave without me again."

"I won't every say anything like that again."

* * *

Two days later, Iroh was stable enough to be medically flown to the palace. The royal doctor prepared a suite for him, and they would have to handle both the physical and psychological consequences of his opiate use.

"He will likely be stubborn when it comes to his medication, diet and exercise regiment, but we must make sure he strictly adheres to it. He will likely lash out and overreact to various slights, real or imagined. It is one of the consequences of withdrawals."

Like many other military men who became addicted, he started using opium as pain medicine and over time used it to clear his mind, putting unsettling memories out of his head. It is likely that those memories will come back without the drugs and he may seem well off."

Tea was Iroh's only healthy vice. He was used to enjoying it with dim sum or cookies, but now he got raw fruit and vegetables, how boring!

Zuko hired a personal trainer to get Iroh up and moving every morning. He had let himself go after the war and the running and pushups made him tired.

Azula and Katara decided to keep Kya and Lilo away from Iroh during his first week home. It's when his withdrawals were supposed to be the worst, and the children wouldn't understand if he had an outburst.

He had a few. One was when the rest of the family got roasted cow pig belly, and he got baked komodo chicken instead.

The cow-pig belly was fatty with a crispy skin, literally the best thing on Earth and he got bland, "healthy," komodo chicken with vegetables. The doctor ordered Iroh to eat less fat.

The diet was bad enough, but watching everyone else eat real food was torture.

After his hissy fit, everyone got "healthier dinners." Katara wanted her children to eat more vegetables anyway, so she wasn't opposed. Azula frowned. She looked forward to dinner. She usually just ate fruit for breakfast or lunch so she could keep working. She didn't think these dinners were enough energy to sustain her anymore.

She would have to start actually eating her earlier meals.

Azula wasn't the only one disgruntled.

"Why is this food so boring?" Lilo asked her mother.

"It's healthy," Katara told her.

"But it has no flavor. We used to eat food that was fatty and good."

"Maybe we should take them to get some turtle duck this weekend," Azula said to Katara. She could use some fatty goodness too.

"YAY!" Lilo called out.

"Only if you eat all your veggies," Katara told her.

"AW!"

"She takes after your brother," Azula told her. Lilo was a meathead.

Kya had no problem with her veggies, although she thought the food could use more salt.

* * *

The mood was a tense one. It's hard to be too cheery when there's a miserable old man at the table. Zuko wasn't sure what to do other than what they were doing. Mai thought Iroh was depressed and likely needed a therapist, but she didn't want to offend him by suggesting it. Katara was hoping that his mood would lighten as he adjusted to the new regimen, and Azula thought Zuko should have hired an in-house nurse and left him in Ba Sing Se. He was miserable here, and he made everyone else miserable with his presence.

Kya was old enough to sense the mood even if she didn't know the reasons. Lilo was just depressed about the food, and Izumi went along with what her parents told her. After dinner, Azula retired to her chambers. She felt exhausted not physically. Katara came in shortly afterward. "Are you alright?"

"It's suffocating."

Katara needed no more explanation. "I don't know what else we can do."

"Can we take the children to the park tomorrow or something? I think we need out of the palace."

Katara agreed. "Maybe the fresh air will do us all some good."

* * *

Iroh was restless. He didn't realize how much he used opiates until he had to quit. Now everything he used to enjoy felt different: playing pai sho, making tea blends, playing the tsungi horn.

Without his teashop to work at, his days felt largely empty. He had his workouts and his medical appointments but he didn't have a driving force anymore. He didn't have anything to drown out his sorrows. Alcohol would damage his liver too, so he had to go totally dry.

He needed to find a new way to fill his life, but he didn't even know where to start. He didn't even know how to broach the conversation with anyone.


	31. Chapter 31

The next day, Azula and Katara got their girls ready to go to the park. Lilo wanted to take Xiao Long, but Katara told her, "we're taking the palanquin."

"AW!"

"Only a princess can complain about being carried around," Katara commented.

"You think she's bad," Azula teased. "I was such a brat at her age."

"Was a brat?" Katara teased back.

Azula pouted before kissing her wife.

"OOGIES!" Kya yelled at them.

"I'm going to kill my brother," Katara muttered.

They got into the palanquin, and 20 minutes later, they were at the park.

Kya ran towards the other children right away, and Lilo was on her tail.

"They ditched us fast," Katara told her wife.

Azula grinned. "It's good that they make friends their own age. It means there's more time for us." Azula kissed her wife. They both were long overdue for some private time.

* * *

While, the married couple made out like teenagers, their daughters played fire tag. Despite the name, the game required no bending. Lilo was smaller than the other children, so she wasn't as fast, but she didn't give up. She kept chasing until she found a tired boy to tag.

They were having fun until one of the girls said to them, "your mothers are a gross!"

"They are not!" Kya yelled.

"Girls are supposed to marry boys not other girls."

The two girls started to argue. When the other girl shoved Kya down, Lilo got mad and threw a fireball at her.

"AAHHH!" the flame didn't last very long. It was Lilo's first one, but it was blue, and it managed to get the girl's shirt.

Kya grinned. "You can firebend now!" She took her little sister to their moms.

"OOGIES!"

Azula and Katara finally broke apart.

"What is it Boo."

"Lilo can firebend!"

The little girl produced a small blue flame.

Azula scooped her up and kissed her forehead. "Good girl."

"No firebending indoors," Katara told her right away.

"How about we all get ice cream?"

The family got ready to leave when a woman approached them.

"Your little brat set my girl's shirt on fire," she spat.

Azula looked to Lilo. "Did you set fire to a girl's shirt today?"

She frowned and nodded.

"Why did you do that?"

"She shoved Kya to the ground."

Azula glared at the woman. "You're lucky all she got was a burnt shirt. I could throw her in a cell for treason instead."

Azula had her hair down instead of in its infamous topknot. The woman hadn't recognized her until now.

"Princess I'm …" The woman started making a myriad of excuses before apologizing and running away.

Azula smirked. It's always the bullies that are the first to run scared.

Katara thought there was a lesson to be learned. "If you have any trouble with other children, get an adult first."

"Yes, Mama."

Azula kissed Lilo's forehead. "It's over now. Let's go."

* * *

While Azula kept her family outside of the palace, Zuko felt overwhelmed by what was going on inside. He was behind schedule because of the two impromptu trips he had made to Ba Sing Se. He had foreign negotiations to handle.

Domestic policy that needed to be improved and his own family responsibilities that were starting to weigh on him. Mai could not help him as much as she used to since Izumi needed him.

Zuko felt responsible for his uncle and was trying to make sure that they were doing everything they could for his liver and his addiction, and of course, Azula took the morning off to spend with her own family. He could really use her help here. Not to mention Mai will get on his case for never taking mornings off for her and Izumi.

_She had to make me look bad on top of not being here._

When Azula did get back, she had Lilo on her shoulders and was running around with the girl on her shoulders.

"I can firebend! I can firebend!" the little girl chanted as Azula spun her around.

They almost ran right into Zuko.

"Uncle Zuzu I can firebend."

He cringed at the nickname. "Isn't that something?"

She made a flame.

"No firebending in the house," Katara chided.

Kya put out the flame right away. "Safety third!"

The two girls ran off together.

"Azula we're pretty far behind schedule."

The princess raised a brow at her brother's tone. "I'll be right there."

Katara gave her wife a quick peck and then was off.

Azula followed her brother into his study and saw a slew of papers everywhere.

"Why is this such a mess?"

"Because I have too much to do and not enough time."

Azula shook her head. She had gone over this with him before. Working yourself into a frenzy does not get things done better or faster.

"Let's take a step back and get some order."

Azula started separating the papers into categories, finance, security, public relations, and the administration justice.

It took an hour for them to actually have a handle on all of the things they had in front of them.

"Now let's prioritize. What are our deadlines?"

They started with the things that were past due and then looked for what things were due soon and what things weren't due for a while.

"We're behind on the budget, so that's first."

Mai just put Izumi down for her nap. The crown princess had been in a fussy mood all morning. The Fire Lady hoped it wasn't colic.

Soon she heard childlike cries and feet stomping as her nieces ran through the hallway.

"Just don't wake up the baby," Mai said quietly. "Whatever they do, don't wake up the baby."

Izumi managed to sleep through their play. Iroh did not. The elder woke up to the girls running back and forth in the hallway.

"Who the hell is supposed to be watching them?" he was not amused.

* * *

By the time he made it outside of his room, Katara came to put down the girls for their naps.

"Come on, time to rest."

Lilo and Kya trotted behind their mother and fell to sleep as soon as their little heads hit the pillow.

At dinner, Iroh complained about the noise. "Do they need to be so loud during the day?"

Azula rolled her eyes. "Didn't you run a teashop that was noisy all day?" _What kind of palace is this, kids can't even run and play?_

"Can't they play outside," Zuko questioned.

"This is absurd. Even Ozai let us play inside."

Zuko shut up after that.

Katara took a gulp. The situation with Iroh was getting tenser all the time. Every little thing made him irritable. There had to be something they could do.

Mai looked down at her nails. She could use a manicure.

* * *

The next day, Katara called a family meeting to discuss Iroh's temperament.

"Iroh is miserable," she started. "He always looks tired. Every little thing irritates him. We need to help him get his mojo back."

"Didn't the doctor say his withdrawals would make him like this?" Zuko added. "I don't know what else we can do."

"Maybe he'd be happier at home with a nurse," Azula commented.

"How would that make him happier?"

"He wouldn't have any noisy children in his house, and if he's still miserable, then he's only making himself and the nurse miserable and not all of us." Azula thought he needed to get out of their hair.

Mai threw a pillow at her sister in law. "Why are you even at this meeting?"

"My wife told me there would be cookies. Where are my cookies?"

Katara rolled her eyes. "I did not promise you cookies, and can't you offer something productive."

"I do think it would be productive for him to leave the palace. What does he do all day other than get up, do his workout, and then sleep the rest of the day today? He may as well be dead the way he's living."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I don't know, can't we give him a boat and banish him for three years."

Zuko's jaw dropped.

"Too soon? It's been 15 years Zuzu."

"Don't call me that and maybe travelling would get him in the right spirit." He just needed someone who could travel with him.

"Why not try his friends … I mean whichever ones aren't dead."

Katara smacked her wife's head. "What's wrong with you?"

"Seriously, where are my cookies? I need junk food. This health food craze is making me crazy!"

"You want to get Iroh out the house so you can eat?" Mai questioned.

"Agni yes, and it's not just me. Think of the children!" Azula made an impassioned cry.

"How is she your second in command?" Katara questioned.

"I have no idea. She ranges from being highly functional to well being Azula."

The affronted princess bopped her brother with a pillow and proceeded to start a fight.

Mai told Katara not to hit her with a pillow, but the waterbender didn't listen. Mai responded by throwing a knife and then it was on. Water, fire, and blades filled the room as a four-person duel emerged.

Azula told Katara, "let's tag team them," and they chased down Mai first.

"Zuko, cover me!"

The firebender tried to draw Azula away, but his sister met his fire flame for flame.

Before they knew it, the foursome had torn apart the room.

"Oops!" Azula said as they surveyed the damage.

"How am I going to teach Lilo not to firebend in the palace?"

"What kind of rule is that?" Zuko questioned.

Katara sighed. "Never mind." It sounded like a good safety rule; implementation, however, seemed futile.


	32. Chapter 32

Shu Jing

Piando had been asleep when a loud banging on his door woke him up.

"FAT! Can you see who's making that racket and what does he want?"

The old man put a pillow over his head. He was tired from reading all night and he had no intention of getting out of bed now.

"Yes Master!"

Fat left the kitchen and went to answer the door. When he got there, he was surprised to see …

"Princess Azula, what are you doing here?" She was there with her two children.

"I need to speak with Master Piando. It's rather important."

"It's a bit early. I think he's still asleep," please go away and come back later … or never.

"Oh I have just the thing!" She turned to her two girls. "You know how we have to wake up Mommy when she oversleeps."

Kya and Lilo nodded.

"Well I want you to wake up your Uncle Piando the same way."

Lilo grinned.

They ran past Fat up to his bedroom.

"What are they doing?" He questioned as he watched them disappear around the corner.

"Oh, they'll get Piando out of bed; trust me."

They ran into the master bedroom and Lilo threw a fireball into the air, causing Piando to snap his eyes open. "What in Agni's name?"

Kya froze the flame and then threw an icicle at him.

"Stop that!"

The girls ran around the room, burning and freezing anything they could reach. Piando had to jump out of bed to chase them and they ran back to their mother.

He didn't realize it was a set up until … "Oh Master Piando, how nice of you to join us!"

_I've been had!_ He angrily looked to Fat who simply shrugged.

"What brings you here, Princess?"

In the living room, Azula explained how they needed to get Iroh out of the palace.

"He's so depressed; he's making us depressed. He needs something to live for, something to excite him again. I think he used opiates to cope for so long that he doesn't know how to look at the world with a sober brain anymore. He just sleeps the day away."

That's too bad. "How can I help?"

"We think he needs to see how great the world can be, travel, meet people, force himself out of this cocoon he built for himself."

"What do you want me to do?"

"We want you to go with him."

"ME?" Why me?

"Well, don't take this the wrong way but at his age, a lot of his friends are dead. You're one of the old dudes who's still kicking."

Fat tried not to guffaw. She was so crass.

He wanted to say no just because she was so rude, but he was afraid she'd keep coming back until he said yes.

"If I help you, do you promise to never, ever, ever bring yourself of your children here again?"

"Absolutely!" Azula's end of the bargain was done. It was Zuko's job to plan the trip.

* * *

Katara found herself alone in the palace. Her wife took the girls, why Katara didn't know, and Mai was busy with Izumi.

She used to wish for quiet mornings so she could sleep, especially when Lilo was teething; as a baby, she could cry the whole palace down, but now, she didn't know how to sleep without Azula keeping her warm or one of the girls climbing into their bed at night because she had a bad dream.

It was too lonely in her room, so she left the bedroom and headed out to the garden. Even though it had been over twelve years since she had first been here, she still couldn't believe how beautiful of a garden they had. As a child, she imagined the Fire Lord living in some menacing metal death trap of a castle or something; how does someone have such beauty in his backyard only to rage war on the rest of the world. She wondered if they had ever bothered to come outside the war room; did they ever do anything so simple as to smell the roses.

The flowers were reminiscent of the sun, red, orange, and yellow. For a long time, Katara hated the color red; it only reminded her of the day her mother died. It was hard to hate red and be married to Azula. She loved red lipstick, red clothes; she even had shoes with red bottoms.

Lilo was exactly the same way. If they weren't careful, Lilo would get into Azula's make up and put red all over her face.

After about an hour outside, Katara decided that she had enough of the heat and started to go back to her chambers; she was just about to take her shoes off when she heard …

"Mama, Mama!"

Lilo and Kya ran to her. Both girls were covered in dirt. They must have been playing in Piando's backyard.

"How was Shu Jing?"

"It was fun!"

Kya started talking about all of the things that Piando had in his house.

Lilo was more enthralled with, "they had bacon! Lots of bacon!"

"I smuggled some back," Azula had hid hers in her purse, to escape the health purge of the palace.

Katara rolled her eyes. "It's cold."

Azula warmed it with a flame. "Now it's sizzling hot … like me!"

Lilo reached for it.

"Wait your turn." Azula ate the first one.

Katara had to admit she enjoyed the smell of sizzling bacon.

After their protein snack, it was time for the kids to have a bath.

Kya was learning to make her baths very efficient with her waterbending.

Lilo liked making her bath as hot as a sauna.

"It's scalding," Katara told her as she tried to lower the temperature.

"I like it. It's like lava!"

"What is it with firebenders and heat?"

"What is it with waterbenders and freezing their toes off for fun?" Azula retorted.

Katara shook her head. "Hardly anyone freezes off his toes anymore … unless you leave on wet socks and they freeze or …"

Azula had been speaking rhetorically. "That's possible? Gross!"

Katara distracted her with a kiss.

"OOGIES!" Lilo complained.

Azula covered Lilo's eyes, so she couldn't see.

* * *

Zuko was appalled when Azula told him how she got Piando to agree.

"You sent Lilo and Kya to attack him!"

Azula wasn't fazed. "You say attack, I say play."

He rolled his eyes. "Why couldn't you ask nicely?"

"I did," Azula insisted, "after I gave him good reason to say yes."

"That is so …"

"Genius, wily, charming?"

"You."

"Is that a complement or an insult?" She actually didn't know.

"It's a compliment," he told her.

She smiled, and then she bopped him on the head.

"Ouch! What's that for?" he growled.

"For lying. If you're going to insult me, at least be honest about it."

He groaned. He could not win with her.

* * *

Two weeks later, Zuko had finished the trip's preparations. Now, he only had to tell Iroh that he was going.

He thought about telling him at dinner, but if Iroh made a fuss, he didn't want it to be in front of everyone. Instead, he invited his uncle to afternoon tea.

"Zuko, how nice of you to invite an old man like me to tea. Whatever do I owe the pleasure?"

Zuko started to feel bad. He's not going to like this. "I wanted to talk to you about your recovery. How are you doing?"

Iroh thought it was going okay. He hadn't done any opiates. He made it to most of his physical exercise sessions. He was inexplicably tired however.

"I'm doing alright. How are you?"

They made small talk for about a good twenty minutes before Zuko asked, "What do you think about doing some travelling?"

Iroh raised a brow. "Are we going on a family vacation, where to?"

Zuko frowned in confusion. For a moment, he pondered having all eight of them on a vacation and it sounded terrible.

"Not a vacation … well it could be a vacation but not a family vacation."

"You're not making any sense! What are you talking about?"

"We think you need a break from the palace."

"We?"

"You've been miserable Iroh. You sleep the day away and snap at anyone who causes you to wake up even though it's the middle of the afternoon …"

"I do not SNAP!"

Zuko didn't know how else to describe it. "You used to be so full of life and now … I don't know what to say. It's like you have nothing that makes you happy anymore."

Iroh tried to argue, but he couldn't come up with any words.


End file.
